Hypothetically, life without an identity...how to?

I'm thinking about the guy who allegedly tried to fake his own death in a plane crash. (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PLANE_CRASH_MYSTERY?SITE=MOCOD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT). He thought ahead enough to really get himself caught. That is, he planted a motorcycle in a storage facility, brought maps (pages that were missing from an atlas in the wreckage that helped get him caught), etc.

The thing is...I have no idea how one would go about living any sort of quality life if you no longer have a valid identity.

He'd essentially be on the run for the rest of his life. You can't get much of a real job without a SSN and having the IRS know all about you...

So what would the game plan be? Just do odd jobs for cash only and live in a tent for the rest of your life? Buy a boat and go shrimpin'? Hightail it to Mex-ee-co?

What would you do?

Clem

I've neglected to bring up the possibility that he already had a large stash of cash tucked away somewhere. I'm assuming he'd be needing to earn a living...

Well, for the 20 million illegal imigrants (15% of our population), it doesn't seem to be much of a problem, does it?

Oh...I wouldn't say it's not a problem. It might be more accurate to say it's a worthwhile endeavor for them. That's not intended as any sort of political commentary.

I pose the question in the original post because it intrigues the heck out of me.

Clem

Dr. Hess wrote: Well, for the 20 million illegal imigrants (15% of our population), it doesn't seem to be much of a problem, does it?

Nope. There are flea markets here in Dallas where you can get forged Social Security Cards. There was also an undergrad at SMU who had a pretty good business selling fake Texas drivers licenses to students not old enough to drink. With a little more deception you could also get a few credit cards in these fake names. This guy should have had his fake IDs taken care of before he ever got on the plane. Maybe even two or three fake identities. He wasn't thinking.

Dr. Hess wrote: Well, for the 20 million illegal imigrants (15% of our population), it doesn't seem to be much of a problem, does it?

LOL! How true!

That guy was a complete idiot. He did all kinds of stuff guaranteed to get him caught, like the missing atlas pages. If he bought the bike with a credit card etc there's another big piece of trail. Not to mention 'killing' himself in such a high profile manner. Everything he did stuck out like a sore thumb, like Whack-a-Mole if you pop up above the surrounding surface you'll get smacked so stay low.

He'd have been better off to park his car on top of a high bridge somewhere with a suicide note in it. Not as 'cool' as a private plane crash to be sure but that's why it would be a lot more believeable, particularly in view of his financial problems coming to light. Not to mention the cops would need to spend a lot of time looking for the body before deciding it possibly had been faked which would be extremely important.

It couldn't be THAT hard to buy fake ID etc, like Hess said lots of illegals do it every day. Me, I think I'd have a full beard and mustache for at least a year. That way there would be recent pics with the furry face for the po po to send around. I'd buy the ID with a bare face well ahead of time so that I could see if it raised any alarms, buy an ordinary looking car or bike from a private owner for cash using that ID if needed, then when it's time to disappear, shave the beard and hair but keep the mustache. Even your own mom wouldn't recognize ya at first glance.

Real important is the time elpsed between faking the suicide and crossing the border. I would say 18 hours is probably the biggest 'sure' window, after that the possibility of the alarm being raised after the body wasn't discovered would get a lot bigger.

Cash: I guess the best thing would be to have a good bit o' cash stashed (no bank accounts). carrying it across could be a problem, maybe the olde tyme method of stashing it inside the spare tire. Low tech but it could definitely work.

A border crossing (I don't think I'd try to stay in the States) would best be undertaken at the absolute busiest crossing at the absolute busiest time of the day. The hard part: acting completely normal, but it can be done. Say you are just going across for the day, then once on the other side disappear as quck as possible. Mexico has a LOT of land with relatively few cops so it should be pretty easy.

My idea as an art student involved the principle of few artists works are worth much during they are alive.

I would do some good work and get established. Just need some peices of art, couple dozen or so set aside and fake my death. Value of the work would go up, and the money from the sales would get set to a numbered swiss acount. Go live on an island and enjoy life after death. if this plan seems flawed, I came up with it when I was 21

Skruffy's two minute guide to escaping your life:

First, buy the most boring CAR you can get with cash. No motorcycles, vans, or pickup trucks. Think beige camry. Something cops/highway patrol wouldn't even look at. No vanity plates, flashy wheels, obvious damage, or other identifying features. Take the plates of that retired lady's gremlin that hasn't moved in 20 years. She probably wont notice for months.

Second, have LOTS of cash on hand. Whatever income you believe you can survive on for the length of time you'll remain in country. Also, don't pull all this cash out of the bank the day you leave. Drain an account over a year or so. Any job you get exposes you to discovery, so choose wisely. Landscaping, truck stop hooker, etc... NEVER use your real name.

Third, plan your escape. Watch the border crossing for a few days and figure out when shifts change. You'll cross 30 minutes before the change. Everyone will be ready to go home. You certainly don't want to cross at the beginning of a new shift when everyone is at their most alert.

Fourth, get several fake IDs. You don't want to keep using the same one and leave a path for authorities to follow.

Finally, when you're ready to leave just disappear. No fake suicides or robberies gone bad. If you're suddenly gone one day it will be a while before anyone even starts looking for you.

Enjoy living on the beach giving people surfing lessons or something.

Being the sick berkeley that I am I have an angle on this issue.

1: Plan your escape early and learn your path by heart. Do not leave a trail on the trail. Rent a small seasonal house "off the books" near the "LZ" and put your essentials in there during the "On season" Plan your escape for the "Off season". Leave clothes, a small wad of cash, and an unremarkable unregistered vehicle at the cabin (motor scooter?). Get a 30+ foot cruiser used and prep it for a multi stop trip through the gulf.

2: Create your new life next. Get fake citizenship passport from a non extradition country, preferably english speaking. Get a home, job and the required big racked hottie to clean your stuff.

3: Get ready to disappear. Do your normal E36 M3 every day. Steal from the rich, poor, government, whomever just get the money out of the system and into your offshore account. Do not change a single thing you do in your daily routine. Poop at 3:00pm as always. Plan your "D Day" trip in advance so everyone knows you are flying to Boca on the 12th. If you are going to wreck a plane do NOT call in a mayday. use water soluable tape to secure the mic just before you jump out so all they hear is the mic cue up and the plane hit the water. The escape route will be very near the crash sight. do not make the escape obvious. Clean your trail and do not leave the 'chute. If you can not field pack your 'chute don't jump out of the plane. Get to the cabin quickly. You have about an hour before the federales will be on sight. Remember, the escape is you, your chute, the key to the cabin and that is it. Leave your iPhone in the plane, leave your E36 M3 in the plane, LEAVE YOUR LIFE IN THE PLANE!

4: As soon as you are back in the cabin shower, change, eat and clean up. Place the chute and your belongings in the car and get going. If you have done your homework you will know which restaurant/retail store leaves the dumpster open on thursday night. Get ready for a boat ride.

5: Bounce between the small marinas and prepare to take a long boat ride to Cuba or wherever.

What I don't understand about his plan was: Isn't it rather suspicious to find a plane crash with NO body. I mean what conclusion was he thinking they would come to? Eaten by animals? Maybe he wanted the plane to go down in the ocean or something.

I suspect one of the hard things about "disappearing" is that most people would have a very hard time not having some connection to there past life (parents etc). It's obviously a pretty extreme measure. It kind of reminds me of the classic sci-fi time traveler situation: "everyone I have ever know is long dead"

It worked for Bruce Banner....until he got angry.

IIRC, (and not that I've actually looked into it), there was a South American Country that will not extradite if you have children from a native citizen.

So, if in fact that is the case, you go to said Country, have some drinks with little umbrellas in them, knock up a hottie and smile...smile...smile. Then wait patiently for the bullet from one of the people that you swindled.

JFX001 wrote: It worked for Bruce Banner....until he got angry.

...and Jack Bauer--albeit sporadically.

I'd imagine that as a financial manager, he'd have a lot of Social Security numbers to choose from.

Options:

Live off the grid…quick and easy but your standard of living would be low and there’d be no final resolution meaning each day would just be another challenge to avoid apprehension.

Fake ID…only useful in avoiding detection by those who aren’t looking hard and technology will make this a less viable option as time progresses.

Leave the country…there’s a strong correlation between English speaking countries and those that cooperate closely with the US so unless you speak Spanish or something, it’ll be difficult to blend in & make a living.

Create an identity…research how the US keeps track of everybody and identify the best loop hole. For instance, you may choose to present yourself as an immigrant seeking a temporary visa. It’s a given the authorities will find an anomaly when they cross check the records but you’ll be ready to contest the issue and work to get every thing resolved.

“What do you mean your records show that Bob Smith from Alberta died last year…check my pulse, I’m most certainly alive…what forms or whatever do I need to fill out to get this resolved”.

These are very well thought out, but you could just be me. disappear and no one would care

That's the thing, isn't it... unless you make a big nuisance of yourself and involve the police excessively--stealing big money, crashing planes, driving a fire truck with a loose, active hose through the Burning Man festival while screaming into a bullhorn "take a shower, hippies"--then most people could probably just disappear without too much trouble. It only becomes an issue if the authorities care enough about you to look for you.

FIre hose image permenantly burned into my minds eye... thanks!

:) Clem

What I don't get about that whole story is this guy had his own plane and threw it away. Why wouldn't he just fly off to South Africa or something and dissapear there? Yes, it leaves a trail but I'd think it'd be easier to get away if the cops who have jurisdiction over you aren't actually the ones who want you. Plus he could have just filed a fake flight plan and landed in the desert somewhere.

J

Jay wrote: What I don't get about that whole story is this guy *had his own plane* and threw it away. Why wouldn't he just fly off to South Africa or something and dissapear there? Yes, it leaves a trail but I'd think it'd be easier to get away if the cops who have jurisdiction over you aren't actually the ones who *want* you. Plus he could have just filed a fake flight plan and landed in the desert somewhere.

That plane is not going to make much of a trans-Atlantic flight. Maybe if he went Quebec-Greenland-Ireland... but I suspect it wouldn't even have range for that. (My dad and grandfather made that trip once in a Piper Comanche, and they filled the backseat with a 50gal supplementary tank.) And it would take him a long time to get somewhere people wouldn't pick him up.

I'd have made a fire in the cabin of the plane with some kind of explosive device. Call in an electrical fire and go for it. One of the best vehicles is a funky old grey toyota pickup with a camper shell. Put a little elite or vespa in the back. I've rolled stop signs in front of cops and they wouldn't even bother pulling me over.

Get a few sets of papers with birthcirtificates etc. and good passport. Probably about 10-20K in fake papers if you are serious. You might consider Namibia, that is where one crook went. The only problem is it won't matter if the country doesn't have an extradition with the US if you are a real creep or pimp, they might decide to rip you off, what are you gonna do go to the US consulate.

If you think you are going to mexico I'd think twice. They'd like to get you as much as the americans.

There are places south of the border where you can disappear quickly, like Baja and the Copper Canyon area. No it ain't like living in LA or wherever but it's secluded. In places like that $100K makes you a millionaire. Then off to South America once the story has moved off the front pages.

Unless you've got language skills and/or some connection to a "really" foreign country (anywhere cozy with the U.S. doesn't count), it'll be easier to maintain a reasonable standard of living anonymously in the U.S. than in a foreign country.

Assuming you don't have boat loads of cash, you're going to need to start some sort of small business/self-employment that can stay beneath the radar (i.e., mostly cash, preferably mobile). It's easier to do this in some states/counties than others.

Landscaping, handyman, and maid service are fairly obvious. Another idea for the crowd here is mobile mechanic. All you need for that is a vehicle, tools, and a pre-paid cell phone. The biggest problem is people wanting to pay you with credit cards, but you can probably work around that. Having some sort of lunch wagon for job sites is another option, but the permitting requirements here can catch up with you.

The other alternative is jobs where people move around a lot, but you'll need one or more fake identities that will pass muster. Things like construction worker, waiter, etc. The problem with most of these is that they don't pay very well.

For living, your best bet is some sort of RV. There are so many campgrounds (and Wal Marts) that you can easily pay cash and move around every few months without arousing suspicion. Pretty much any other place you can live that paying cash won't arouse suspicion is going to be a bit of a dump.

You're going to want to stay in a reasonably metropolitan area. It's easier for new people to blend in and easier to remain anonymous in such an environment.

Fake identities are easy enough to get for the odd thing that needs it, but making a habit of using a fake identity in the U.S. will eventually get you caught.

Most of the other ideas here are pretty good, the main point being leave no connection between your old and new life. Every single link is going to dramatically increase your odds of getting caught.

I met alot of "relocated" people living in the mountains of Colorado.

Even the best, most thorough plans (Hess has my vote) are still subject to the approval of Mr. Murphy. His law makes exceptions for Chuck Norris alone.

The thing about living off the grid in the US is that it's always temporary. Eventually you'll be caught in a traffic accident or hospital. If you're worth finding, even for something petty, a warrant would show up. The only exception is death; just ask Alexander Supertramp.

ClemSparks wrote: What would you do? Clem

Dude. I am seriously not about to give that info here.