How to disappear without a trace - How to disappear without a trace

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Cut ties with everyone -

If you want to disappear, you need to be ready to cut ties with everyone in your life, including family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.

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Cut ties with everyone -

Getting in touch with a person who was part of your life becomes a potential lead to track you down.

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You may want to leave a goodbye note -

Maybe you will want to tell someone you are leaving and why. You can leave a note explaining everything to your loved ones, especially if you’re leaving a spouse and/or children behind.

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You may want to leave a goodbye note -

The same goes for your employer. Perhaps you could resign before you disappear. This way, people are not going to report you missing. If you are reported missing, law enforcement gets involved and things can get tricky for you.

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Decide where you’re going -

It’s important to do your research when it comes to choosing your destination. You may consider going to a remote location for instance, but do you have the skills to live off the grid? Perhaps a different part of the country is an option, or another country? Research is key. But you don’t want to use home computers or other devices to do find out.

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Decide where you’re going -

Instead of doing research using your home Wi-Fi or your own smartphone data, it’s best to buy a cheap laptop, tablet, or phone (using cash) and do your research using public Wi-Fi. It’s important that you don’t log into any of your accounts. And if you really want to make sure you’re not tracked, use a VPN.

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Create a fake trail -

What you want to do in your home network and phone is to create a fake browsing history. Let's say you want to move to city A. You will do some research on your own devices, using your home’s Wi-Fi, to search for jobs, apartments, etc. in city B. This way you leave a fake trail.

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Choose a place where you can easily blend in -

You don’t want to stand out in the crowd, so it’s important that you move to a place where you can easily blend in with the locals. Small towns, for instance, may become a problem, as you will stand out and people are more likely to ask questions.

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Avoid familiar places and places you like -

Choosing a location where you have any ties, family, friends, or simply expressed that you’d like to visit (e.g. you’ve always wanted to go to X and your friends know this information) is a no-no.

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Make sure you’re not being tracked -

In this day and age, devices such as Apple’s AirTag, which allows tracking, are increasingly more popular. It goes without saying that if you have any of these (including tracking software on your phone) make sure you get rid of them.

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Get rid of your phone -

Speaking of tracking devices, your phone collects and stores a huge amount of data about you. This includes, of course, location data. Buy a burner phone if you must. If you can live without a phone, then that’s the best thing you can do, really.

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Finding a place to live -

It’s okay to spend a few nights in motels or hotels, but you will want the privacy of your own space at some point. If you do so in a bigger city, make sure you avoid large rental companies.

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Finding a place to live -

Instead, look for small family-operated rental businesses, who will not perform a thorough background check and place you in a database. And, of course, always pay your rent in cash.

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Erase your digital footprint -

Getting rid of your digital footprint may be troublesome, but it’s not impossible. You can start by deleting all your social media accounts. Sites like Pinterest, Goodreads, Spotify, etc. can give out a lot of information about you, so you’re better off deleting your accounts on every single platform.

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Erase your digital footprint -

But then you probably also have a number of email subscriptions, and your data all over the internet, owned by different companies. There are personal data removal services that can help erase your digital footprint. You can easily find these online.

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Use cash -

We’ve mentioned this before, but we can't stress it enough: use cash. Cash is an untraceable payment method, so take advantage of it.

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Use cash -

Before you disappear, you may want to hide a stash of cash and have it ready for the day you leave.

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Untraceable investments -

Carrying a suitcase full of cash may not be the solution to carrying larger amounts of money though. The alternative? Invest in gold and silver coins. As of this date, gold and silver are still a safe investment. Carrying coins instead of gold bars is also a lot easier.

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Change your appearance -

This is important, as you don’t want to risk someone recognizing you. And believe us—the world really is a small place! You can change your hair style, facial hair (if you have it), wear makeup, and change the way you dress.

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Change your appearance -

Changing your appearance is not only crucial in case of bumping into someone who may recognize you, but in this day and age it’s absolutely fundamental, given the amount of cameras that capture your image. To play it safe, avoid areas where there are lots of cameras.

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Do not use ATM machines -

Speaking of cameras, most ATM machines have cameras, which will collect and store your image. Remember the stash of cash? That’s why you should get it before you vanish.

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Change your routines -

We all have habits, routines, interests, and hobbies. These make it easier for others to track us down. Say you love going to the gym. Guess what? This will be one of the targeted places if someone goes looking for you.

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Change your routines -

You really have to reinvent yourself and eliminate everything that links you to your past life. This is certainly not easy, but it’s doable.

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Get rid of your car -

Yes, your car needs to go. From licenses to registration and insurance, there are numerous documents that link your personal data to a car.

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Get rid of your car -

Modern cars, with GPS and infotainment systems, are even worse. After all, your location becomes trackable. It’s best to stick to public transportation. Or get a bicycle!

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You can keep your pet -

Your pet won’t tell anyone about your new location, but if they have a microchip, it’s important that you delete all information before vanishing.

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Cash flow -

How are you going to make money? You may get away with finding a job that pays in cash and doesn't ask many questions. Food service and construction are good starting points.

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Cash flow -

You can also work for yourself, providing services like painting, lawn maintenance, etc. Just make sure you advertise your service under a different name and use the number of your burner phone in the ad.

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It’ll probably get lonely -

It's important to mentally prepare for those drastic changes and the impact they’ll have on you. Being away from everything that is familiar, especially people, can be very hard. Even simple things such as dropping social media can contribute to feelings of loneliness.

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Not so uncommon -

Living one’s life behind and vanishing without a trace is actually not uncommon in Japan. So much so that there’s even a name for it: jouhatsu.

Sources: (Grunge) (HuffPost) (Wired)

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