Shadow Life

by Akasha

Like most articles in 2600, this article is for informational purposes only, and I am not responsible for anything you may choose to do with it.  Remember: identity theft and money laundering are illegal.

In this article, I will attempt to outline the basic techniques of creating an alias.  This is just a foundation, but each piece of the foundation can be built on.  It is only limited by your imagination.

There are two parts to an alias: the personality and the identity.  In this article, I am writing about the latter.

Step 1:  Create a name.  You don't want a name that is easy to search for or to investigate.  You want a name that hides itself.  Search the web for the most common names, and look for the most common names used around the year you were born.  You can also check your local phone book to get an idea of how many people in your area share the first and last name combination you have selected.

Step 2:  Create new e-mail.  Create an email address under your new name, using your alias as the actual address.  So, if you've selected John Smith as your name, pick an email address like J.Smith07@example.com.  If you don't want to use your real email address to create your new one, try going to hushmail.com to create an email address (only complete steps 1-5), and then use that email address to create the alias' email address.

Step 3:  Create a fake wallet.  Buy a new wallet to carry only alias identification in.  Create a business card.  There are places on the Internet where you can get them for free.  Put your alias, email address and phone number (we'll get to that later) on the business card.  Take the fake credit cards that you get in the mail and put them in your wallet as well.  Get membership cards to stores or fan clubs in your alias.  If you ever get mugged, this is what you can hand over.  You should keep your fake wallet on your "weak" side so you can defend or attack with the "strong" side.  Most untrained people wouldn't even think that you were carrying two wallets with you.  I suggest keeping at least some of your money in the wallet, so you're not taking your real wallet out to purchase or pay for anything.

Step 4:  Mastercard/Visa/American Express gift cards.  Get some of these!  They're prepaid, and you can purchase stuff over the Internet with them without giving up your real name.  Terrorists buy them in bulk to launder money.  These cards can also go in your wallet; they look real, and most places accept them.

Step 5:  Cell phones.  Get yourself a prepaid cell phone.  They're disposable and harder to trace as long as you don't use them to call someone you know.  Terrorists also buy these in bulk for that exact reason. When you activate it (remember you have an IP address), use your alias.  I know you that don't have to give up any information to activate some phones, but giving them your alias will help get your alias into the system.

There you go: you now have a usable alias, maybe for a one night stand or for some social engineering.  Whatever the case, you're set.

And remember: knowledge is the foundation of all things.