| #: |
From / Date: |
Question / Answer: |
| 6398. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Sep 10, 2009
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#6396 - Illinois plates
Since you're so close to Wisconsin, is there any chance you could switch the plates to a Wisconsin ghost address and apply for that city sticker as a long-term visitor? Or perhaps just move to Wisconsin? Did the police who wrote the license plate down actually take any action on it? Did they issue you a ticket for failure to register the vehicle? Have they asked you yet whether you're "living" in Illinois? Do they appear to be watching you? Do they know where you work? Can you travel somewhere on the weekends for awhile in order to establish plausible deniability regarding where your "permanent" state residency is?
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| 6397. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Sep 10, 2009
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Car registration
Bob wrote:
Imagine this: a car and driver both licensed in Ohio have lived in an Illinois town for 2 years at a "private" address. The town has a "sticker" (i.e. tax for owning a vehicle) and the police recently took interest by writing down the car's license plate (which leads to an LLC with an Ohio ghost address) when the garage door was open and the car was visible from the street."
I would need more information. Specifically, what is the language in the town's "tax" statute? If the language says that any "resident" must pay the tax on a vehicle owned by him, then your plausible argument is "I don't own the vehicle, it's owned by the company I work for, and they allow me to use it. It's licensed in the state where the company has its offices, and therefore, under the "Full Faith and Credit provisions of the US Constitution, Illinois is compelled to honor the registration of the vehicle from Ohio. Therefore, because I am not the owner of the vehicle, I am not required to pay the tax, and because the owner of the vehicle does not reside or operate a business in the town, it is not obligated to pay the tax."
If, on the other hand, the ordinance requires such a "sticker" for any vehicle inside the city limits for some statutory length of time, then I'd argue equal protection violation if that tax is not levied on ALL vehicles entering the town, regardless of their stay. Or I'd get the sticker in the name of the LLC that "owns" the vehicle, using a bogus letterhead from the "President" of the company that authorizes you to deal with the paperwork.
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| 6396. |
Bob
Libertyville, IL
Age: 40
Sep 10, 2009
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Car registration
Imagine this: a car and driver both licensed in Ohio have lived in an Illinois town for 2 years at a "private" address. The town has a "sticker" (i.e. tax for owning a vehicle) and the police recently took interest by writing down the car's license plate (which leads to an LLC with an Ohio ghost address) when the garage door was open and the car was visible from the street. Is the best solution to get a local (or nearby) Illinois town ghost address and transfer the car and driver to these new addresses? The IL DOT requires 'proof' of residence with the DL application (e.g. utility bill, rental agreement). Unfortunately, this also means the ghost address becomes closer to the "private" address, at least in the case of the DL. I have no talent for getting local ghost mail addresses, so am afraid I will have to rent a tiny apartment just to get a ghost address for the DL; this isn't even a good option because it ties the car and driver. This must be a common problem--any recommendations? I should probably live out in the boonies where there are no sticker taxes, but I choose to live close to work (self-employment not feasible in my line of work). Thanks! I have given out a number of copies of your HTBI book to friends, family, and colleagues.
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| 6395. |
Tom
Denver, Colorado
Age: 64
Sep 9, 2009
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Otto Private Vault response
No ID is required. Provisions are made for a password for a designee to access the box (executor, etc.). I don't recall the insurance provisions. I imagine they are the same as any safe deposit box where the content is unknown. I remember that there was a provision that the boxes will not be used to store drugs, explosives, or stolen goods. They provide a private room within the vault to access you box. There is a guards on duty 24/7 and personal there during business hours. Box holders have 24 hour access.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.24-7privatevaults.com/...
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| 6394. |
john
Coastal NC
Age: 49
Sep 9, 2009
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Separate LLCs for vehicles?
Should each auto be in its own LLC? I'm talking 4 autos. My wife, son, daughter & myself. Any thoughts on this?
...
I have a number of vehicles myself and each is titled in its own LLC. That way, if the LLC name that one vehicle is titled in becomes known, a search for other vehicles in the same LLC name will come up blank.Also, if you wish to switch vehicle owners around, it is easier to do so by transferring the LLCs rather than the car titles.
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| 6393. |
Otto
Pasadena, CA
Age: 41
Sep 9, 2009
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Private Vaults
Thank you, Tom. I have some brief questions for you.
A] What happens to the items in the vault if you die? The iris scan seems to prevent friends or family from retrieving your belongings in that situation.
B] What information was requested when you signed up for this service?
C] Were any restrictions given as to what you can store there, and how do they insure compliance? (I ask this because it is the first sign of intrusion I can think of.)
D] Must you schedule your visits or can you show up at the facility unannounced - literally 24/7?
E] How did you hear of this type of service, and of this company? What moved you to test it?
Thank you for sharing. This is informative. The answers may help flush out Big Brother or reveal His methods...
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| 6392. |
jay
Phoenix, AZ
Age: 35
Sep 9, 2009
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Geico - private insurance cards
Here's a boon for insurance with Geico: I signed up a couple months back VIA a Tracfone telephone and paid the policy VIA a MoneyGram transfer at Walmart. I switched to them because I had never used them before and I had successfully gotten some privacy procedures in place, including titling my vehicles in NM LLCs. I had used a ghost address as my physical location even though I wanted all mail to go to my PO box, but they made the physical address my mailing address by mistake. I left it that way for months, but just recently switched my mailing address to my PO box because they kept sending mail correspondence to the ghost address. I just got the policy change documents back as a result of the address change and noticed that different from my previous policy documents that indicated my vehicles "would be" garaged at the physical location address I had given them, the following NEW statement was only the NEW policy documents, "The insured vehicle(s) will be regularly garaged in the town and state shown in item 1, except as noted in the Vehicle Segment". The Vehicle Segment section showed ONLY the city and ZIP code. Furthermore, the new ID cards I ordered (to see what they would show), list NO addresses! No physical address, no PO box address; just the vehicle and my name and my policy number. If I recommended a friend switch to Geico for these privacy benefits, and for some reason their insurance cards still have an address, I'd suggest calling and asking it to be removed for privacy purposes. Remember, law enforcement can access DMV records, so there is no reason an address should have to show on the insurance cards stored in the vehicle since a thief might be able to use this against you. Seems like a totally valid thing to ask for. This privacy benefit may require changing your mailing address with GEICO to a PO box, but all of us regular readers of this site have a PO box, right? Perhaps this is an Arizona "thing" as well, but I wanted to pass along this information...
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| 6391. |
Atlas
Cumming, GA
Age: 42
Sep 9, 2009
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Death of privacy, especially when online
Jack I am a big fan of your work! Longtime reader of HTBI. I thought everyone would be amused or interested in the adventures of Wired Magazine journalist Evan Ratliff. They held a $5,000 contest to see who could locate Mr. Ratliff while he attempted to "vanish" and still maintain his many online activities. By studying and learning how he was caught, I think this will serve as a good lesson about the methods other people could use to track you down by using contextual clues. Cheers!
Submitted Link #1: http://blog.newscloud.com/2009/09/how-we-caught-ev...
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| 6389. |
TOM
DENVER, CO
Age: 64
Sep 9, 2009
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PRIVATE VAULTS
I have tried a service in Vegas (24/7 Private Vaults). The service is anonymous. The security to enter is a key pad, iris recognition, and safe deposit box key. Your name is not attached to the account. I have tested it for a year, made 3 visits. I only store a few non-critical documents for the time being. It is reasonable and works well. Thet have boxes ranging in size from your 4" safe deposit box to gun safes. My only concern is that big brother could be watching.
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| 6388. |
Paul
San Francisco, CA
Age: 28
Sep 9, 2009
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Pre-paid
#6383 Is there anyway to get the Amex(or anything) w/ a fictitious name/address on them. Most online purchases require name/address. This is in regards to purchasing an online membership of some sort w/ no deliveries to anywhere(E-harmony, market analysis, political, etc.).
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| 6387. |
Stan
Atlanta
Age: 44
Sep 8, 2009
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Low cost College
StraighterLine let students move through courses as quickly or slowly as they chose. Once a course was finished, Solvig could move on to the next one, without paying more.
In less than two months, she had finished four complete courses, for less than $200 total. The same courses would have cost her over $2,700 at Northeastern Illinois, $4,200 at Kaplan University, $6,300 at the University of Phoenix, and roughly the gross domestic product of a small Central American nation at an elite private university. They also would have taken two or three times as long to complete.
And if Solvig needed any further proof that her online education was the real deal, she found it when her daughter came home from a local community college one day, complaining about her math course.
When Solvig looked at the course materials, she realized that her daughter was using exactly the same learning modules that she was using at StraighterLine, both developed by textbook giant McGraw-Hill. The only difference was that her daughter was paying a lot more for them, and could only take them on the college’s schedule. And while she had a professor, he wasn’t doing much teaching. “He just stands there,” Solvig’s daughter said, while students worked through modules on their own.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/fea...
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| 6386. |
john
Atlantic Beach NC
Age: 49
Sep 8, 2009
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NC DMV LLC NC DL Required for title & tag
I'm stumped The NC DMV requires a NC DL for the sale or purchase of a vehicle LLC or not.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance
John
Submitted Link #1: http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_services/registra...
...
Most if not all states require some sort of ID, although not necessary a local DL. (I show a passport each time.) However, I doubt that your name will show up when a license plate is run, if you title the vehicle with an LLC.
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| 6385. |
Billson
New York, NY
Age: 44
Sep 8, 2009
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re: #6383 Prepaid cards online
Clay, I checked out the AmEx giftcards today. The bank teller informed me that for amounts above $100, you have to buy them directly from AmEx. I took this to mean you have to use your own credit card to buy them. This gives you privacy from vendors you buy things from. But it does not give you privacy from the credit card companies and that is mainly what I am after. Any suggestions?
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| 6384. |
Iris
King George, VA
Age: 40
Sep 8, 2009
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kids and privacy
Marc-I homeschool my boys, but reading HTBI and dealing with a stalker has opended my eyes to how little privacy one has unless they make it a on going priority in their day to day life. I hope your tips will give others something to think about if they their kids are in public school.
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| 6383. |
Clay
New York, NY
Age: 42
Sep 7, 2009
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re: #6379 Prepaid cards online
See my post #6359. The Amex is great for any website where they do address verification, whether you're buying something shipped or online content. If they don't do address verification, any of the prepaid credit card / gift cards will work.
How to know whether they do address verification? 1) Contact them via email or phone & ask. 2) Read their Terms and/or Privacy policies--they will often mention it in there. 3) Try it--get the Amex card, try to make the purchase without adding "personal info". If it doesn't work, then add the personal info.
A private way to call 800 numbers (like the Amex customer service) without a pay phone--use VOIP at gizmoproject.com (either download the application or use the online keypad). All you need is headphones & any microphone that will plug into your computer. Calls to 800 are free & if you download the application, you can use a proxy server. Need internet connection faster than dialup, but nothing super speedy. Any wifi hotspot will do.
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| 6381. |
Randy
Johnston, IA
Age: 45
Sep 7, 2009
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College for $11 per Day (or Less)...
Re Wendy, #6371: I agree with JJ that many people should not attend college, but I also agree with Wendy that many people legitimately need/want to. Dr. Gary North insists that there are ways to get a college degree far more cheaply than most people do or imagine.
Check the info at the link provided below and be sure to watch the short video (second line down).
Submitted Link #1: http://www.lowestcostcolleges.com/...
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| 6380. |
Marc
Seattle
Age: 52
Sep 7, 2009
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#6378 - Iris - Childrens privacy
First, don't use the bus. Take them yourself or get a friend to. Second, consider using a small private school. We use a church based school with approximatly 55 students(k-6). Since I take her to school each day I know all the staff, about 8 people, and most of the students and parents. Since the school is church based it tends to be conservative and since it is small the staff are very flexible about privacy and other issues. If they lose too many students they could lose their job. It's also not too expensive.
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| 6379. |
Paul
San Francisco
Age: 28
Sep 7, 2009
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pre-paid cards online
What is the best pre-paid ONLINE card for anonymous purchases when you're NOT having something delivered? For example, dating sites like Eharmony, etc.? I've heard a lot of these cards don't work online(w/o a name on them anyways) and I don't wanna get stuck w/ a useless one. Any and all suggestions welcome. Glad I found your site, great info!
...
Have you also checked my blog?
www.invisible-privacy.com
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| 6378. |
Iris
King George, VA
Age: 40
Sep 7, 2009
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Children & privacy
I hadn't really thought about it until after reading HTBI and then seeing the full page ad in our local newspaper...the school bus schedule! This schedule tells me the school (elementary, middle, or high=telling me age range of children), house address that the bus stops at, and what time it will be there.
This schedule could provide lots of information to a pedophile, stalker, PI, or whomever. Additionally; sommeone could check the list of students and their assigned classroom/teacher posted on the school doors. There are lots of ways this informmation could be used outside its intended purposes.
It may sound a little on the side of paranoia; but your family information is on public display.
...
Good point, Iris!
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| 6377. |
Abagail
Chicago, IL
Age: 30
Sep 7, 2009
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RE: Private Vaults (post #6370)
Otto, I think (and would be interested in hearing what others have to say) that, generally, as soon as you rely or trust an outside entity with your data, you've potentially lost your data. Now, I only mean this literally in terms of having them pickup/deliver back your data files, disks, or whatever it is. I personally know someone that lost a hard-drive forever by sending it to a repair facility. They switched his with another customers' so he got someone else's hard-drive (which he returned to the customer, it had very sensitive financial material on it, he had to find a letter to figure out who the hard-drive belonged to, he never got his back though). If they allow you to personally place your documents or valuables into the vault yourself, then it seems like a potentially great service. I would still keep another backup somewhere else however. The anonymous account sounds terrific on the surface, yet I would be cautious about that - they and their facility is in America, after all, not in a country that values privacy or understands numerical accounts. By advertising basically what is just like the number-based swiss bank account (no name, etc), they have to be already be on the radar. That detail should have been kept under wraps IMHO, something
they could reveal to callers if and when they enquire what info is
required to open an account. The implicit assumption is that you could
store tons of cash or your "medications" in the vault anonymously, and that obvious possibility is bound to attract attention, I would think.
Without any account information, then I would think it would be more likely that an actual search would/could be done. It seems like a good enough reason alone. Additionally, Florida has its share of problems so it probably would be better to be located somewhere like Idaho or Iowa, for example, but for obvious reasons, Florida has got to be much better
for building a privacy/anonymous-oriented business.
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