How to Be Invisible: A Step-By-Step Guide To Protecting Your Assets, Your Identity, And Your Life [Hardcover]

J.J. Luna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2000

For most of us, privacy means an unlisted telephone number. But what about your Social Security number? Your credit card numbers? Your bank account statements? Your personal health data? You may think this information is also secure, but if you've ever ordered anything over the Internet, or if your credit card is on file at the local video store just in case you never return that copy of Titanic, or if you throw out bank statements without shredding them, then this information is now in the public domain and can easily be discovered and used against you by a private eye, a computer hacker, or even a vengeful neighbor or former lover. Once people gain control of even a shred of your personal information, they can gain control of your life. They can transform this information into access to your assets, your loved ones, even your identity. And once your privacy is gone, there's very little you can do to get it back.

J. J. Luna, a highly trained and experienced security consultant, can show you how to achieve the privacy you crave, whether you just want to shield yourself from casual scrutiny or take your life savings and disappear without a trace. He reveals the shocking secrets that private detectives use to uncover information, and then shows you how to safeguard against them.

Filled with vivid real-life stories drawn from the headlines and from Luna's own consulting experience, How to Be Invisible is the essential guide to preserving your personal security. Privacy is commonly lamented as the first casualty of the Information Age-- but that doesn't mean you have to stand for it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's hard to say how private investigators would react to books like J. J. Luna's How to Be Invisible--while it makes their jobs a lot harder, most of them are paid by the hour. If you want to withdraw from the snooping eyes of the government, corporations, stalking ex-boyfriends, or practically anyone else, this practical, down-to-earth guide will help you and your family vanish. It's not a glamorous James Bond life Mr. Luna is inviting you to take part in; it's probably much like the life you're living right now. Spending much of the early part of the book frightening the reader with tales of stalkers and mistaken identities, the author successfully makes his case that a few adjustments to an individual's personal information flow can make a life-or-death difference. While getting his plan off the ground will take a bit of planning and effort (you have to move at least once to clear your trail), it is sustainable and worthwhile even for those who think they have nothing to hide. Learn about anonymous travel and purchase, using trusts and corporations to keep your assets private, and how recent laws (the book's date of publication is 2000) significantly affect older methods of guaranteeing privacy. Luna makes no claim to know the law where you live and suggests that you consult a trusted local attorney before implementing most of his advice. Just knowing how easily a criminal can learn about and exploit your personal information will make you want to do just that. --Rob Lightner

From Kirkus Reviews

A subversive, disturbing, and altogether remarkable exposure of our frightening transparency to government agencies, investigators, the media, and more malign forces.Luna, a security consultant who spent 11 years running a secret operation in Franco's Spain (presumably outwitting the state police), begins by presenting formidable evidence of the demolition of personal privacy in the information age, as well as a chilling hypothetical selection of ways in which this state of affairs can ruin the existence of Joe & Jane Citizen (from false criminal accusations to stalking to lawsuits). His wryly presented conclusion--that advanced privacy measures are flood insurance--are borne out through the clear-headed instructional chapters that follow. First he shows how to protect one's physical space: how to construct an alternative mail-drop and ghost address, how to keep your real domicile unknown, and how to avoid using one's social-security number and birthdate for identification purposes. Although his suggestions seem surprisingly simple, he offers stern disclaimers to consult legal professionals. Further chapters delve deeply into the complicated netherworld of trusts, limited-liability companies, personal nominees, secret home businesses, anonymous travel, hidden ownership of vehicles and real estate, and so forth. One cannot but note that such information, although certainly invaluable to people in particular demographics (such as undercover cops or abused women, who might well need to disappear), is most often utilized by a new breed of transnational organized crime (with examples evident from Nick Leeson to the Russian Mafia). Yet Luna--whose slightly ornate prose suggests Nero Wolfe after several Belgian ales--makes a bracing, serious argument for the aggressive defense of one's informational and asset privacy, acidly noting throughout how governmental entities constantly attempt to seal the doors of invisibility, as in their harrassment of mail-receiving services.This is a memorable work which should be considered by many and undoubtedly will be acted upon by some. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (July 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252501
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252502
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JJ (Jack) Luna moved with his wife and small children to Spain's Canary Islands (off the coast of West Africa). Outwardly, he worked as a writer and free-lance photographer. Secretly, however, he dodged the Spanish Secret Police while working underground in an activity that was at that time illegal under the dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

In 1970, Franco, yielding to intense pressure from the Western World, moderated Spain's laws. Luna was now free to come in from the cold. By that time, however, privacy had become an ingrained habit.

In the years that followed he started up various low-profile home-based businesses (photo murals, land development, advertising specialties, burglar alarms, travel booklets, Wyoming corporations) built them up, and then sold them. He is currently an international consultant specializing in personal privacy and security.

His e-books--available on his website CanaryIslandsPress dot com--include "Invisible Money," "Skip College: Go into business for yourself, "Off the Grid," "How to survive the loss of your job, your savings, your home," and "Dirty Tricks for Savvy Chicks."

Luna has been profiled in PLAYBOY, quoted in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, and featured on the G. GORDON LIDDY SHOW. He and his wife may be currently be spotted in Montana, Baja California, or any of the seven Canary Islands. Although now in their eighties, both are in excellent health.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusually practical advice., June 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Be Invisible: A Step-By-Step Guide To Protecting Your Assets, Your Identity, And Your Life (Hardcover)

I used to keep an overseas bank account but I learned it is far more private to keep one's cash INSIDE the U.S. Also, the idea that my name should never be connected with where I live, not on one single document, was an eye-opener. At first it seemed impossible but the author shows simple ways to follow this advice on everything from bank accounts and credit cards to drivers' licenses and income tax returns. I have thirty-two books on privacy and asset protection but Luna's book has more practical information that all the others put together. He deals in facts not theory. My only complaint is that the book could have been longer. I would have liked to read more anecdotes about the author's various clients and how they solved their problems.

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Advice. Want More where that came from!, September 20, 2003

By 

Bruce Wagner (Detroit MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Invisible: A Step-By-Step Guide To Protecting Your Assets, Your Identity, And Your Life (Hardcover)

To answer another reader's question... about using a US Postal Service PO Box. That is out of the question! Especially after Sept 11th. The USPS is asking for tons of ID and documentation. They are also being very strict (a pain, in fact) about receiving any mail addressed in any way other than to the exact individual's name who has presented two forms of ID.

Mailboxes Etc. stores (now called The UPS Store), however, offer a much better option. They'll still ask for ID, but you can show your drivers license (just before you move) and your US Passport (which shows no address). No, it's not totally anonymous, but it should be plenty good enough for the first level of security J.J.Luna describes in his book.

Mailboxes Etc is far better than a post office PO Box because:

1. No one will realize that you are using a rental mailbox since the address appears to be a simple street address and "suite number" (box number). i.e. 40 E. Detroit Ave., Ste. 300, Detroit MI 48099. How would anyone know that that's a rented mailbox?

2. They are not nearly as strict as the post office about receiving mail addressed to other names of individuals and/or business names -- as long as the "suite number" is correct.

3. They offer many extra benefits like: being able to call them on the telephone and ask them if there is any mail waiting for you, like forwarding mail to you on an item-by-item basis, forwarding mail to you by re-mailing it without giving anyone your actual end address. (I still don't recommend that you ever have mail forwarded to your real home address, however!)

4. You can even register your Drivers License at that address. I did this without any problem. By doing so, I can use my actual drivers license for ID any time I want... and I am never revealing my actual home address... only my rented mailbox address. You can even have that address printed on your checks so that it matches your drivers license. I did that too. Or, better yet, have your checks printed with only your name and no address. I later did that. Or even better yet, follow Luna's advice on using checks on an account owned by an LLP entity with a name that sounds like a person. I have not yet done that. : )

REMEMBER: Use the rented mailbox address for absolutely EVERYTHING.

AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY: Use your actual home address (where you sleep at night) on ABSOLUTELY NOTHING -- EVER EVER EVER!

ALSO REMEMBER: The cable tv service will get you every time! The cable tv service, the landline service, the electric and gas, and any other utility that's "tied to" your home address (where you sleep at night) MUST be in some other name. It's ok, probably preferable, if you receive those bills at your actual home address AS LONG AS YOUR REAL NAME, SS NO., OR BIRTHDATE ARE NOT ON THOSE ACCOUNTS. And that should be the ONLY mail you receive at your real home address--only under that/those ficticious name(s).

Obviously, if a PI or the FBI wanted to find me, it would be simple. Just stake out the mailbox rental place until I come in for my mail... Simple. What I have is only "level one security". But since I -- like the average person -- am not a criminal, nor wanted by anyone (that I know of), that's the only level of protection I need.

Therefore, there is also no need for me to rent a mailbox in a far-away state. Mine, in fact, is only one block from where I live. But that's fine. Still, it would be more than somewhat difficult for the average angry person, or criminal, or con-artist, or soliciting business, or lawsuit-happy attorney, or anyone else, to find out where I sleep at night.

It's not Fort Knox security, but it is a lock and deadbolt. And that's all I need...

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sound, Practical, and Fun, January 26, 2001

By 

John Noodles (A Field in ND, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Invisible: A Step-By-Step Guide To Protecting Your Assets, Your Identity, And Your Life (Hardcover)

Thumb through a Loompanics or Paladin Press catalogue, and you'll come across a number of books dealing with privacy and "new-identity" strategies. Don't buy them. If you want serious, practical, and LEGAL ways to hide yourself, or simply to secure a higher level of privacy, *this* is the book for you.

I've read a few other books dealing with privacy, and, sadly, they too often recommend tactics that depend primarily on illegal moves-- moves, moreover, that will simply no longer work--like securing the Social Security Number of a dead person, or the birth certificate. Most of the Mr. Luna's methods depend on perfectly legal strategies, and he outlines ways for people to secure varying levels of privacy, depending on their needs. Surprisingly, a high level of privacy can be obtained simply by using what he calls a "ghost" address (which is NOT a Mailboxes Etc. account!), and making sure that no mail--but none--ever comes directly to your home. All utility bills, drivers licenses, and so forth, go to the ghost address. Perfectly legal. Where Mr. Luna is unsure of the legality of something he is describing, he makes it perfectly clear.

A list of chapter titles will give a good idea of the topics this book covers:

1. How this Book Can Make You Invisible 2. U.S. Mail--Sending It, Receiving It 3. Your "Ghost" Address 4. Home Deliveries, House Calls, Bounty Hunters, FedEx, UPS 5. Untraceable Trash, Anonymous Utilities 6. Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth 7. Your Alternative Names and Signatures 8. Telephones, Answering Machines, Faxes, Radios, Beepers 9. How to Find and Use Nominees 10. How to Use a Trust for Privacy 11. Strange Uses for Corporations 12. Limited-Liability Companies 13. Hidden Ownership of Vehicles, and Real Estate 14. Bank Accounts and Money Transfers 15. How to Secretly Run a Home-Based Business 16. Anonymous Travel by Land, Sea, and Air 17. Computer, E-mail, and the Internet 18. Crossing the Canadian and Mexican Borders 19. Secret Hiding Places 20. Cool Stuff That Did Not Fit in Earlier 21. An Exam, as Secret, and an Invitation

There is also an appendix with the names of people who will act as agents for a LLC.

The book is quite thorough in some areas, less thorough in others, such as Internet privacy. He mentions the use of encryption, "remailers", and so forth, but really gives no information on using them, other than to admonish us, "Don't, they aren't secure." There is, I suspect, much more to be said about computer security, file wiping, and so forth, than has been said here.

Mr. Luna outlines some uses of a Limited Liability Company, although, unfortunately, does not describe how you might set one up yourself, recommending you shell out the $2,000 dollars + to have a lawyer do the paperwork if you need this level of privacy. Some mention of less costly sources of legal guidance (for those of us on a budget!) would have been helpful--it's out there (Nolo Press, for instance).

But, then, few people need very high levels of security, and to belabor this would be to emphasize a small, small part of the book. This is a GOOD book, and INTERESTING book, and a USEFUL book. Definitely worth a look.