How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life
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- Create Date：2021-03-30 14:17:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：J.J. Luna
- ISBN：1250010454
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A thoroughly revised and updated edition of the essential guide to preserving your personal security
In this third updated edition， there are new sections on:
From cyberspace to crawl spaces， new innovations in information gathering have left the private life of the average person open to scrutiny， and worse， exploitation。 Using real life stories and his own consulting experience， J。J。 Luna shows you legal methods for protecting yourself from information predators and how to secure your bank accounts， business dealings， computer files， and even your home address。
In this third updated edition， there are new sections on:
*New dangers from using smart phones， e-book readers and other electronic devices
*Protecting your Facebook， Twitter and online banking accounts
*How to rent， buy or build a safe house
*How and where to hide cash， silver and gold
*And much more。
*And much more。
Reviews
Chris Concannon
，
This has been my first book on personal privacy and security and I have to say that while much of it was like trying to learn a new language， I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this brand new world！ I love how JJ Luna infused his own personal stories as well as the reports from readers and consultation clients of his into the overall teaching of the book。 I’ll certainly be making an effort to implement these strategies into my life， especially with the rise of the modern technocratic surveillan This has been my first book on personal privacy and security and I have to say that while much of it was like trying to learn a new language， I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this brand new world！ I love how JJ Luna infused his own personal stories as well as the reports from readers and consultation clients of his into the overall teaching of the book。 I’ll certainly be making an effort to implement these strategies into my life， especially with the rise of the modern technocratic surveillance and police states here in the US。 And as an extra added bonus that I personally enjoyed— he threw in TONS of book recommendations throughout the book that I thought all sounded fascinating and will be sure to check out！ Now。。。 onto Burners and Black Markets by Lance Henderson and How to Disappear by Jack Ahearn。 Goodbye everyone！ 👻 。。。more
Luke Ingalls
，
I like this book。 At this point it is fairly dated but still has some advice that is very applicable。 Lots of the advice lends itself to those of means。Even in lieu of the downsides I found it quite entertaining and will certainly be doing some of the recommendations ASAP。
Barichnel
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includes very practical tips， but hey。。。 what are we even hiding？
TRE
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Bought the book in 2004 and only read it now。 OK overall， not really actionable advice for most people and I found the author's nod-wink acceptance of Mary Kay Letourneau having sex with a 13-year-old to be bizarre， while giving advice later to protect the reader's hypothetical 12-year-old daughter from pedophiles online。 What a difference a year makes！Still， it's written well in terms of structure and flow， and I look forward to going to his website to see what his community of privacy advocate Bought the book in 2004 and only read it now。 OK overall， not really actionable advice for most people and I found the author's nod-wink acceptance of Mary Kay Letourneau having sex with a 13-year-old to be bizarre， while giving advice later to protect the reader's hypothetical 12-year-old daughter from pedophiles online。 What a difference a year makes！Still， it's written well in terms of structure and flow， and I look forward to going to his website to see what his community of privacy advocates have discovered for themselves in the 16 years since this was published。 。。。more
Catheri Wells
，
Some things aren’t feasible for the average person， and things are out-of-date。 But overall， interesting ideas about how to protect your information and privacy。
Jeffrey
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Interesting food for thought， but could really have used some more information on threat models to figure out if all this effort is worthwhile。
Dennis Littrell
，
Or at least once or twice removedI once wrote a novel called "The Invisible Man。" One of the purposes was to get a nodding reader to perk up enough to read the first two or three pages。 （As Casey Stengel said， "You could look it up": Putman's eventually published the book when I was still in my twenties with the title "A Perfectly Natural Act。"） My anti-hero certainly thought he was invisible。 Whether he really was or not is an open question。 J。J。 Luna's nonfiction hero （himself， and the reader Or at least once or twice removedI once wrote a novel called "The Invisible Man。" One of the purposes was to get a nodding reader to perk up enough to read the first two or three pages。 （As Casey Stengel said， "You could look it up": Putman's eventually published the book when I was still in my twenties with the title "A Perfectly Natural Act。"） My anti-hero certainly thought he was invisible。 Whether he really was or not is an open question。 J。J。 Luna's nonfiction hero （himself， and the reader if you follow his advice） is invisible in the sense that he has greatly obscured the connection between his physical self and the world's record-keeping devices。 Although such "invisibility" has nothing like the power of the fantasy with which I used to guide myself to sleep at night （instead of counting sheep I would imagine myself invisible）， it can be of tremendous practical value in this age of Big Brother。Why would anyone legitimately want to hide themselves？ you ask。 Luna， a one-time fuzzy presence in Franco's Spain， gives some excellent reasons: somebody （not just Uncle Sam） might take it upon themselves to go after your assets。 An ex-lover or ex-spouse might want revenge。 You might get sued （a "legal mugging"） or you might just want to avoid the usual harassment from telemarketers and other pests。 Or you might just have some questionable assets that you want to keep hidden。 Luna makes the point （tongue in cheek， I would say） that he does not advise breaking the law， and that this book is not intended to help law-breakers。 （However if they choose to take advantage of his advice。。。well， his book is only a tool。）Luna himself has made a living selling and consulting on "privacy。" Reading between the lines， I would say specifically that he made a lot of money forming what generically might be called "dummy corporations" and selling them。 I admire （I think） such creative self-employment。Luna describes four "levels" of privacy， each with a bigger price tag。 At Level One you'll have "more privacy than 98 percent of the general population。" At Level Four "you are duplicating the federal Witness Security Program。" Incidentally， if you're planning on hiding yourself from the world in preparation for the commission of some sort of "revenge" crime yourself， you might want to notice Luna's caveat on page 6， a sort of gumshoe dictum: "if someone with unlimited funds is after you， you will eventually be found。"His first and most important rule is （p。 244 and elsewhere） "Do not。。。ever。。。allow your real name to be coupled with your home address。" To accomplish this Luna shows you how to set up a "ghost address，" preferably in another state。 He also advises you to never give out your social security number， and relates how you can usually accomplish that。 He says you should use your passport rather than your driver's license when you absolutely must identify yourself because it contains less information （no home address， no SSN）。 Do not use your real name for any of your utilities。 Have your cell phone in a different name than your home phone。 Cell phones are useful in that they have no set location。 For example if you have to call 911， your true address doesn't show。 Naturally you don't use the checks from your bank。 Your checks will have no name on them and no address。 In fact your signature should illegible。 （Luna claims on page 80 that "among European businessmen， illegible is the order of the day。"） And of course （p。 84） you "Get off voter rolls and never return。"This is an interest read with a lot of good （if sometimes expensive） techniques for improving your privacy。 Also， there are sprinkled throughout the texts little tidbits of worthwhile advice。 For example here's how to defeat the redial feature on your telephone: When you finish the call， hang up and then pick up the receiver and punch in a single digit。 Then hang up。 "If anyone checks the 'last number called' all they will find is that single digit" （p。 114）。 Luna sent money orders to sites on the Web offering fake ID （p。 85）。 "Sometimes I received a grossly inferior product。 Other times I received nothing at all。" He quotes a newsletter to the effect that there are no fake ID sites on the Web offering "anything even vaguely worth buying。" That info alone （for some） might be worth the price of this book and more。I would like to make the ironic observation that what Luna reveals about himself in terms of his vocation， habits， likes and dislikes， prejudices， past travels and general world view makes it now impossible for him to stay hidden （should anybody be interested in finding him）。 However， the man is at least in his seventies， so I suppose it really doesn't matter that much anymore。 On second thought， realizing that this Luna is a very tricky dude， it may be that the seemingly veracious personal info in the text is just misleading！On third thought， it could just be that Luna's long life of anonymity has inspired him to seek out a little fame before he disappears completely。 （Insert here a joke about giving Saint Peter a fake social security number。） --Dennis Littrell， author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is” 。。。more
Michael J
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Very good infoI got this book purely on curiosity。 It turned out to be surprisingly informational。 It's an easy light read。 You'll learn a few surprising things。 Very good infoI got this book purely on curiosity。 It turned out to be surprisingly informational。 It's an easy light read。 You'll learn a few surprising things。 。。。more
Mark
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THE manual on staying private - period
Jonathan
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There are many great ideas here on how to keep your privacy。 I know I will be implementing some of them。
Clement Ying
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Field guide to paranoia。。。in an Age of Big Brothers。
C
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Somebody recommended this book to me and it totally freaked me out。 Like， a lot。 The instructions felt a little dated， but I still got something out of it。 Namely， use a private mail box and keep an air horn by your bed。
Amy
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This book mysteriously got added to my read list 10 hours ago， when I was trying to add some other books I'd read to my account by phone。 The universe must be telling me something。 I've corrected the status， and will report back if/when I read it。 August 20， 2017 This book mysteriously got added to my read list 10 hours ago， when I was trying to add some other books I'd read to my account by phone。 The universe must be telling me something。 I've corrected the status， and will report back if/when I read it。 August 20， 2017 。。。more
Ghojuh Singh
，
High on self-promotion， low on information。 There is a little bit of cool stuff about what P。I。's do to catch people but it's a lot of patting himself on the back "look at what I've done" etc。 And whats up with the inside back cover photo？ A pic next to a helicoptor？ Like dude you're not James Bond。And who moves AWAY from the US in one of the best economic times of the twentieth century？ Like seriously dude。 Endures 20 years of hardship and bitches about it。Also seems like a geriatric regarding High on self-promotion， low on information。 There is a little bit of cool stuff about what P。I。's do to catch people but it's a lot of patting himself on the back "look at what I've done" etc。 And whats up with the inside back cover photo？ A pic next to a helicoptor？ Like dude you're not James Bond。And who moves AWAY from the US in one of the best economic times of the twentieth century？ Like seriously dude。 Endures 20 years of hardship and bitches about it。Also seems like a geriatric regarding comments about young people etc。 You can see he's out of touch in a few chapters。 I mean， the guy is easily 70+。Just read blogs and use google to find info on staying private。 。。。more
Gerald Kinro
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I enjoyed the information， but it seemed extreme and paranoid most of the time。 Luna gives specific examples of crimes against those whose identity have been compromised。 I realize that they are out there。 However， the author would have strengthened his case if he had data showing the incidence of those crimes that involve an identity leak。
Patrick
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Good information。 Some of the info might be out of date by now but still a good starting point。
Claire
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Wow， paranoid。 With some good reason but a tough chew for some。I had some issues with it， aside from some poor copy-editing and substantive editing。 First， and most important， I found many things that actually were illegal in this book。 This could be a nationality issue - the book is written for Americans and I am not - but because I had picked a chapter in the middle to read for fun before reading the whole thing and found the things I knew to be illegal， I was now questioning the legality of e Wow， paranoid。 With some good reason but a tough chew for some。I had some issues with it， aside from some poor copy-editing and substantive editing。 First， and most important， I found many things that actually were illegal in this book。 This could be a nationality issue - the book is written for Americans and I am not - but because I had picked a chapter in the middle to read for fun before reading the whole thing and found the things I knew to be illegal， I was now questioning the legality of everything in the book。 It made the entire thing less enjoyable for me。The next part was the sexism。 Most of the book was simply about the facts but any time there was anything that could be gendered， it reeks of '60's rhetoric - with the man arranging everything and having to protect the poor， little wife。 When he suggested names for people he even stuck with only giving male suggestions。 I hate to say it but women have even more cause to have to value their privacy， yet it was not a consideration。 It needs to be updated again for modern times。 For example， stopgap computers are not always possible as software no longer comes on CD/DVDs。 Once one has to log on even once to obtain software， or plug in a stick to transfer files， updating security patches becomes a necessity。 As well， more and more， all levels of government just expect people to have access to modern technology and do not have hard-copy alternatives。 I cannot count the number of times I have gotten into some upset because a civil servant has told me that I must now go to the public library for Internet access then， if I cannot afford home Internet， because they simply do not have paper applications， not even to order。 I now need a smartphone to call a cab。 It's ridiculous and technology is becoming unavoidable。 The last issue I am going to mention is the money。 His solutions are costly。 It is a shame because it is often the people who do not have money who need more protection。 For example， it is those in helping professions （cops， social workers， free clinic workers， addiction workers， teachers， therapists， etc。） who attract unwanted attention from those they serve， but their professions do not remunerate them as well as others。 The advice he gives doesn't well serve large groups who would likely need it。While there were some takeaways， most of the advice I will be following was also mentioned in other books on this topic。 this isn't going to be the first book I recommend to people。 。。。more
Webe
，
Please note: I read the UPDATED version and it's definitely out of date。 Most of the info the author provides is very generic， I can't say it's worth buying。 Each 'tip" provided surrounding privacy issues or becoming invisible is information easily found on the web。 These days most people know about VPN's， encrypted email accounts， using PO boxes; not to mention TOR browser， Duck Duck Go， which allows for virtual anonymity on-line with the ability to search FREE information on how to protect pri Please note: I read the UPDATED version and it's definitely out of date。 Most of the info the author provides is very generic， I can't say it's worth buying。 Each 'tip" provided surrounding privacy issues or becoming invisible is information easily found on the web。 These days most people know about VPN's， encrypted email accounts， using PO boxes; not to mention TOR browser， Duck Duck Go， which allows for virtual anonymity on-line with the ability to search FREE information on how to protect privacy in real time。 And yes， the author is selling services which alludes to deeper knowledge only he can provide。 Considering there's a great deal of focus about hucksters （his competitors） who take your money for fake IDS and other privacy/identity services; it's odd the author fails to see he's essentially doing the same thing。 In marketing this is know as a teaser which is this book - A teaser to convince you to buy his insider knowledge。If you've been in a deep sleep like Rip Van Winkle and just woke up， you might find this book useful。 As for the rest of us， nothing about privacy that hasn't been repeated （for FREE！） at least a gazillion times before。Oh， one final note: Be prepared for a LOT of boring anecdotes about the author's experiences and those of his "associates"。 Many of which have been picked up from national networks。 Yes that's right， the author uses familiar news headlines that have made the rounds on big networks as "personal" accounts。Mediocre writing。 Mediocre information。 At 300 pages？ 100 would have been more than sufficient！ 。。。more
Thiago
，
Very informative。 However， since it was written in the beginning of the 00s， it does not include any information about social networks or smartphones。 For that， read Nicholas Carr or visit EFF's or Richard Stallman's website。"Do not， as long as you live， ever again allow your real name to be coupled with your home address。" Very informative。 However， since it was written in the beginning of the 00s， it does not include any information about social networks or smartphones。 For that， read Nicholas Carr or visit EFF's or Richard Stallman's website。"Do not， as long as you live， ever again allow your real name to be coupled with your home address。" 。。。more
Pete Keen
，
This was an interesting read。 Luna gives a huge heap of advice on how to live your life in such a way that a private investigator can't find you unless the person that hired them has infinite money。 The book proceeds from easiest steps to hardest， starting with how to avoid associating your home address with your name and ending with how to practically disappear when fleeing the country。The various ideas are sort of mind bending。 Luna advocates owning personal property like cars with LLCs。 He al This was an interesting read。 Luna gives a huge heap of advice on how to live your life in such a way that a private investigator can't find you unless the person that hired them has infinite money。 The book proceeds from easiest steps to hardest， starting with how to avoid associating your home address with your name and ending with how to practically disappear when fleeing the country。The various ideas are sort of mind bending。 Luna advocates owning personal property like cars with LLCs。 He also advocates never having debt because of credit reporting and public records。 For example， when you buy a house your name is put on the deed which is filed with your county。 I had fun for awhile trying to figure out a way to buy property while avoiding my name being on the deed， but it seems rather arduous and expensive， involving lots of lawyer time。One of his most practical tips is to use a PO box as your mailing address。 This works for regular mail but packages make it a bit more complicated。 We're probably going to start doing this soon。Much of his advice is incredibly impractical unless you want to live your life in the shadows。 No debt， no home ownership， no smart phone， no Facebook， etc etc。 It's fascinating but the person who implements it definitely has a much different worldview than I do。 。。。more
Joey D
，
cool stuff but a lot of work for an unknown result。 so what if i'm invisible？ needs to be very important to you in order to go through the rigmarole。 cool stuff but a lot of work for an unknown result。 so what if i'm invisible？ needs to be very important to you in order to go through the rigmarole。 。。。more
Jaroslav Tuček
，
Picked this book up on a recommendation from Frank Ahern's How to Disappear， and found it an overall superior choice - a very interesting read on how to keep or reclaim your privacy。 It's imprudent to let so much true information about yourself remain readily accessible to prying hands and J。J。 Luna will show you both why and how to undo the damage。 Definitely recommended， especially to the "I've got nothing to hide" folks， to whom this may be a shocking eye-opener on all the ways they make them Picked this book up on a recommendation from Frank Ahern's How to Disappear， and found it an overall superior choice - a very interesting read on how to keep or reclaim your privacy。 It's imprudent to let so much true information about yourself remain readily accessible to prying hands and J。J。 Luna will show you both why and how to undo the damage。 Definitely recommended， especially to the "I've got nothing to hide" folks， to whom this may be a shocking eye-opener on all the ways they make themselves needlessly vulnerable。 。。。more
Jesse
，
This book is absolutely fascinating。 Loved it。 Read it on a flight to Hawaii。
Olya
，
it makes you a bit paranoid， but he has a point。
Shananigans Kibbey
，
Some may say well parts of this are common sense， "Common sense， isn't so common"。 B。 Franklin， it's the combination the layers that one can create。 Lets face it， no pun intended， FaceBook and Google maybe fighting for who has the biggest ______。 But in the mean time the invasive practices have infiltrated almost every part of out lives， they know what we sound like， GoogleVoice， Siri and other Talk to text and similar applications。 After 9/11 it became obvious that we would become a police stat Some may say well parts of this are common sense， "Common sense， isn't so common"。 B。 Franklin， it's the combination the layers that one can create。 Lets face it， no pun intended， FaceBook and Google maybe fighting for who has the biggest ______。 But in the mean time the invasive practices have infiltrated almost every part of out lives， they know what we sound like， GoogleVoice， Siri and other Talk to text and similar applications。 After 9/11 it became obvious that we would become a police state， scanning faces of a everyone in airports as the pass by， license plate scanners。 Hack able smart cars and houses。 It's our worst nightmare。 It's a book about back to basics， do it now for your children's sake！ I say in 15 years will be the point of no return。 You can't hide once all the information has been collected its too late！ Heed Mr。 Luna's suggestion。 Start now！！ 。。。more
Bob Page
，
Dangerously obsolete advice in the age of smartphones and social networks and global adversaries like NSA/GCHQ
Alan
，
Good book with some great actionable advice。 I'm not sure anyone would ever need the protection the actions in this book provides but it is not a bad idea。 If you want to not be found， this book will give you some actions that might just help Good book with some great actionable advice。 I'm not sure anyone would ever need the protection the actions in this book provides but it is not a bad idea。 If you want to not be found， this book will give you some actions that might just help 。。。more
Word Owl
，
Spectacularly informative。 Side effects include paranoia。。。 To anyone who thinks privacy is impossible in a digital age， I encourage you to read this！ Or at least my review here: http://wordowl。tumblr。com/post/891638。。。 Spectacularly informative。 Side effects include paranoia。。。 To anyone who thinks privacy is impossible in a digital age， I encourage you to read this！ Or at least my review here: http://wordowl。tumblr。com/post/891638。。。 。。。more
Joseph Santiago
，
This was an interesting read。 This showed me that what I thought my right to privacy is in this electronic age is no more then an illusion。 Utter privacy is a privilege that few of us can economically afford。 The author is an expert of this material and dividing the goal of why a person seeks a certain level of privacy is important。 After finishing this book I have a clear understanding about how to develop the resources to be invisible。 The challenges described by Luna make a convincing case as This was an interesting read。 This showed me that what I thought my right to privacy is in this electronic age is no more then an illusion。 Utter privacy is a privilege that few of us can economically afford。 The author is an expert of this material and dividing the goal of why a person seeks a certain level of privacy is important。 After finishing this book I have a clear understanding about how to develop the resources to be invisible。 The challenges described by Luna make a convincing case as to how and why privacy is important for the average citizen today。 This was a good read。Mr。 Joe 。。。more
Sandra
，