'Where were you born?' Jail wants to know?: Federal immigration officers work alongside county jailers, searching for illegal residents

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"One of the first things we ask is, 'Where were you born?' " said Undersheriff David Kirby, who oversees jail operations. "The answer they give can change everything."

Corrections deputies also are trained to spot potential problems where they may not be so obvious to others. Inconsistencies during questioning may warrant a second look. Same goes for an inability to speak English or failing to provide a Social Security number or a permanent address.

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Jack, I wonder if you or your readers would comment on this. If arrested, am I legally required to provide my birthplace, my SSN, and my permanent residence address? I suspect not, but it seems that failure to do so would subject me to some intimidating hassling from the sheriff's staff.

It seems that we should strive to avoid being arrested, as that could undo all our attempts to keep our privacy!

Submitted Link #1: http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ss...

I decided to test the flexibility of one of my credit card companies. I called them and told them that I run a personal consulting business (DBA), and that I am the only employee. I said I wanted a more "professional" appearance, and asked if I could get a credit card under my account with only my "company" name on it. After saying "umm.. I think we can do that", she agreed.

I then went to Vistaprint and ordered some professional looking business cards with my "company" name and first initial of my middle name + last name on them. If I get any hesitation from a merchant when using the card, I can show them a business card. If that doesn't work, I can show them the same credit card with my actual name on it as proof, though the charge will go under the company name.

I'm not sure how much extra privacy this will achieve or if I'll run into any resistance from merchants, but I think it's definitely a step in the right direction for those rare times that I actually need to use a credit card (auto rental, hotel, etc).

Since it can plug into any DSL, cable or broadband connection, and it is portable, it couod be anomymous... unless it reports back to ooma with your IP address. Any thoughts on this topic?

If you were to go with an electronic medium like PDF, you could resonably protect the document from being printed and having text extracted from it (via AES encryption and a long password). However, you couldn't protect the document and it's view/open password from being shared amongst individuals wishing to gain access to it.

With a hardcopy, there is nothing you can do to physically stop someone from photocopying or scanning the document into a tradeable PDF file. However, I would highly suggest customizing EACH copy of the document you send to your customers with multiple identifying factors, and keeping a copy of each under their file. These customizations can include watermarks, borders, fonts, footnotes, paragraph spacing/order, etc. This way, if the document does happen to leak, you can trace it to a specific individual.

Good luck...

Does any better technology exist today to secure and protect a document than a simple paper copy sent via the mail straight to the customer?

... No.

The maps prepared every ten years for the census, unlike those prepared by private companies, are made available to the public at very minimal fees, and anyone can copy them without paying a royalty to the copyright owner (the U.S. government). They are the first, cheapest, source of data for the digital street maps used in all those GPS navigation devices that people carry around in their cars.

Any errors in those Census maps (called TIGER files) will persist for years and years as errors in the digital maps in people's GPS navigators. The rural subdivision where my parents built their retirement home on the Oregon coast has many of these errors, especially in the naming of the streets. I hope that after the 2010 census, the updated digital maps will have corrected those errors.

The census workers are trying to find out where all the houses (and apartments, and other dwellings) are located. Then on Census Day, they will attempt to learn who lives there.

Yup. Big Brother is mapping you.

Line at post office short, the counter clerk greets the customer by first name and while fulfilling this gents needs, the man asks the employee to check the activity of a tennants P.O. Box. This task was done with no further questions and small chit-chat followed as to why this information was needed.

Research needs found me at the library and need to use a computer. My card, seldom used, was at home. Informing the circulation person of my woe they asked for my last name. They then said "C". Thinking they had said "gee" was no issue and I proceeded to log on, having been given my card number. It was rejected. Returned to the circulation desk and clarification with staff found they gave me someone elses log in information. This incorret number was crossed off and mine was added. What is scary is no ID was asked for. The next week I went to another location, used this wayward password and found the person had placed e-mail setting to automatic. Had full access to their account.

In seldon used village park my '07 two-seat car is parked and I'm on the shaded side of large B-B-Q pit, with roof, sitting in foldable chair I carry. Reading a magazine, with small radio and volume low, a van slowly pulls up and a gentleman stops, proclaiming he was checking on my safety and thought I had automobile issues. Stating all was fine and things were under warranty he then headed for a shady spot at far end of the parking lot, window rolled down and motor running. Noticed him placing a magnetic antenna on his roof.

About five minutes later it occured to me what he was doing. As I loaded up and prepared to escape he approached with his police ID in hand. He had ran a tag check and was stuck when the LLC, "no name," popped up. Instantly removed my cell phone, set in vibrate mode, so I said and excused myself. Talking and walking then made haste to the car. Said I'd like to chat but there was a business emergency and I needed to leave immediately.

Realized this was an off duty policeman who was being a snoop. His picture was in the newspaper recently and this is why I recognized him. Privancy does come at a cost and these examples show how lax things can be!

Also, another feature I was given is a Custom Ringing phone number. I give this number only to trusted friends or family, and it has a distinctive ring. Other normal ring calls (going to the original phone number on my account) I do not answer and go to my voice mailbox (which I never identify myself by name).

I'd like to let you all know that it is still possible to achieve anonymous web hosting.

First, CVS stores still sell prepaid AMEX cards in $200 denominations (at least here in Southern California).

Second, I signed up with a well known web hosting provider, using a ghost address (ANY address will work, BTW) and a VALID cell phone number (no K7 or auto voicemail stuff will work). I paid with the prepaid AMEX. The next day, I received a phone call to verify the signup, and successfully confirmed the account. I could then purchase any number of domains anonymously with additional AMEX cards. Adding on domain privacy makes the setup even more secure.

As long as you don't access the account in any way from an Internet connection somehow tied to you, you and your website/blog/whatever can remain truly anonymous.

A reader recently asked about anonymous iTunes access. I believe using a prepaid AMEX will work, but I never recommend using iTunes, due to the fact that the MP4 files have DRM and also embed the iTunes account info them. Instead, purchase the MP3 files from Amazon.com with a prepaid AMEX. The files are DRM free, and no address verification is needed since nothing is shipped.

Good luck...

Could this info be coupled with government use of MAVs later on? See imbedded video in article. Pretty scary.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?nof...

Pro: They are not going to close during a US bank holiday.

Pro: A European casino may allow you to convert chips to Euros upon cashing out (a few years later?)

Risk: The casino may go bankrupt as it is a business. Diversify your savings would be better. Euros, Canadian Dollars, or other semi-stable currency not USD.

Con: You have to travel back to the single location to get cash. You may have to travel back to Europe to get your Euros out.

Far simpler to just bury Euros in the ground. Discussed at the URL below.

Submitted Link #1: http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?topic...

... Note to William--Please use the html code to separate paragraphs, as explained on the page where you sent the comment. (I added them this time.)

This includes all of your trip information: where you went, who you traveled with, your "profile", etc.

There are no controls over this, so anyone can access your information at any time, and nobody else will know.

... Thanks for that interesting information, Paul!

A trick I learned from an investigator is to take a vacation to Vegas and convert your currency to poker chips. I'm sure there's some down sides to this method, like having to go back to Vegas to convert back to currency. Are there other risks I might be missing?

Is there some way to to avoid having my name show up when signing car registration papers and escrow papers on a home? Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

... I prefer MEMBER. Most have single owners and need not be mentioned by name on a tax return.

SOMEONE must always sign for any corporation, LLC or trust. That does not mean your name will show up on a title, however.