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kottke.org posts about Frank Ahearn

How to fake a fingerprint

From a NY Times article on how to disappear, a quick tip on how to effectively fake a fingerprint:

Are officials troubling you for fingerprints? “There’s a nongreasy glue, like a mucilage,” he said, that is more or less invisible once applied. “You put it on your thumb. You roll your thumb over your heel. Now, you’ve got a heel print on your thumb for no one who exists.”

Frank Ahearn, one of the people quoted in the article, actually runs a business that helps people disappear…or at least he used to, until he disappeared.


How to disappear

Frank Ahearn used to be a private investigator but now uses his PI experience to charge up to $30,000 to help people disappear.

There are three key steps to disappearing. First, destroy old information about yourself. Call your video store or electricity company and replace your old, correct phone number with a new, invented one. Introduce spelling mistakes into your utility bills. Create a PO Box for your mail. Don’t use your credit cards and the like.

Then, create bogus information to fool private investigators who might be looking for you. Go to one city and apply for an apartment. Rent a car in another one.

The next, final step is the most important one. Move from point A to point B. Create a dummy company to pay your bills. Only use prepaid mobile phones and change them every month. It is nearly impossible to find out where you are unless you make a mistake.