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How to hide your identity

interested bystander | 14.12.2010 12:29 | Culture | Repression | Technology | World

How to hide your identity from the surveillance machine. Please add further suggestions / amendments as I do not profess to be an expert.

How to become a ninja
How to become a ninja


The cops have started trying to get in contact with people they want to have a little chat with about last thursday. The people in question have been neither charged nor convicted of any offence and in fact the cops suggest not all are even suspected of a criminal offence. Yet their faces are splattered all over the front pages. Every year thousands of new faces are added to the cops' domestic extremism register for the crime of attending (or passing by) a demonstration. Want to demonstrate without having your face smeared over the tabloids and recorded by the surveillance machine?

The quick method: something simple like the sleeve off a t-shirt or a scarf, best coupled with a hoodie and/or sunglasses and/or a peaked cap.

The best method: the demonstrator starts by putting on a t-shirt, but instead of pulling the head hole over their head simply uses the opening as a slit for their eyes, using the shirt sleeves to tie a knot around the back of their head (see picture). This gives complete head coverage except for the eyes which can be covered during daylight with dark sunglasses. If coupled with a hoodie, virtually impossible for a copper to rip off quickly or at all as the hoodie protects the shirt sleeve knot. Add gloves and sunglasses to the mix and they won't even know the colour of the happy protester's skin (racial equality? in the presence of a copper?? whatever next).

General points (aka the small print): Best to use plain black material to avoid your mask becoming a distinguishing feature in itself. Masking up can earn you a very invasive stop&search if a Section 60 is in place (as it's probably best to assume will be the case throughout London for the next few months), in particular when leaving kettles or other flashpoints those wishing not to be searched tend to duck out of sight for a moment to swap outer layers of clothing for those prepared in a backpack and demask, and from then on use hands to hide facial features (s60 only applies to hiding face with clothing). A peaked cap is acceptable to wear in day-to-day situations (unlike a mask) and protects from most CCTV (being higher than your head) especially when coupled with a hoodie. Turn the cameras on the cops - take your best snapper along on a demo and send the pics to fitwatch.

interested bystander

Comments

Hide the following 10 comments

Facepaint

14.12.2010 13:44

Police have failed to identify activists in court due to their faces having been painted. It's fluffy, legal and unless you arrested at the time then even if the policeman claims to recognise you then it introduces doubt. Even if you are arrested at the time then if several people have the same facepaint design then that introduces doubt.

It was quite funny watching the Millbank protest, various people took off their masks to talk to the TV interviewers. Nothing wrong with that, they obviously hadn't done anything and the fact that innocents masked up would stop the targetting of masked protestors.

Danny


Finger cots

14.12.2010 14:00

Finger cots are like tiny condoms for your fingers, used in medical and semiconductor areas. They hide your fingerprints like latex gloves, but if you are white skinned and you cut off the rubber ring at the end of the finger cot, they are virtually invisible.
The Daily Mail made a lot of play that the twat Dave Gilmour was photographed wearing latex gloves, and they assumed it was either to hide his fingerprints or protect from spraypaint. Use cut up fingercots to hide your fingerprints, ordinary woolen gloves to protect from spraypaint.

I had my first 'sex-lecture' from my mum when I was 17 and she found 200 finger cots in my pocket, which cracked me up, she must've thought I was both sexually voracious and endowed with a tiny dick.

Danny


distinctive clothing

14.12.2010 14:13

Don't forget to think about distinctive clothing, including backpacks, shoes etc. Without paying attention to details like that the mask itself can turn out to be pretty useless.

-


not said enough......and PAIR UP as well

14.12.2010 14:52

Well said my anonymous comrade!
This can't be said often enough.
There are too many photos in the papers of 'wanted' 'hooligans'

Having your face on show doesn't only open you to probable arrest and charge, it also allows the police and media to focus on certain 'troublemakers' using the 'wanted poster' tactic as seen in the tabloids.

Also bear in mind that once the situation on the ground is deemed to be a major public order situation by the senior officer attending, anyone within the melee acting in a way deemed to be violently disturbing the peace can open themselves lawfully to be charged with riot, violent disorder or affray- whether they are masked or not- (eg-being in the wrong place when the snatch squad miss their intended target, or being caught a glancing blow with a truncheon and stumbling into a police advance).

All this is caught on camera by police intelligence/cameras (FIT teams,helicopter footage, drone footage(possible), individual officer's testimony, CCTV already in situ (in shops etc)

So, MASK UP REGARDLESS once you are in this environment

Also, as stated above- either have something to change into, or be prepared to jettison a top layer of clothing

However- something that is not said enough- and is just as important is-

BUDDY UP!!

Have at least one mate to pair up with.
Keep an eye on each other all the time when possible
Hold hands/link arms when in a frontline crowd situation (eg- before the police first charge), and don't just link up with your mate but with other people too. This is a good method for preventing snatch squad arrrests and sometimes for breaking thru police lines(especially when they are first forming)

MASK UP, PAIR UP, STAY FOCUSED, STAY FREE

sorry, gotta go.................................

masked avenger
mail e-mail: wehavenoface@supersecretanarchistmail.com
- Homepage: http://super_secret_anarchist.com


Watch it ;^]

14.12.2010 15:32

I know that door!

Not telling you


Phones and traceability

14.12.2010 17:10

Don't talk about stuff on a phone, particularly one registered to you. If saying anything you don't want the cops to hear AT THE VERY LEAST TAKE THE BATTERY AND SIM OUT OF YOUR PHONE. Police ritually use phone tapping to intimidate and target protest groups. Even when your phone is off it can be remotely turned on by the police - this is not paranoia this is documented fact. Taking the battery out is an important first step but some phones have remote batteries that cannot be removed so take the sim out too. Best job is not to say anything until you're well clear of any microphones. Leave you phone at home and go for a walk in the park. Think about getting clean phones (both handset and SIM previously unused and paid for in cash) so you can communicate with your affinity group on the day.

Similarly if buying travel tickets withdraw the money from an ATM and buy your ticket in cash.

This seems like rank paranoia but it is respected collective knowledge accumulated by a long line of committed activists who have faced their share of hideous police repression. It really doesn't take much effort to be on the safe side.

felipe


Stronger than linked arms.

14.12.2010 17:54

Take a leaf out of the cops book if you want to prevent them infiltrating your lines or sending in snatch squads. Hold each others belt at the back as the cops do in 0.27 of this video.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvyfxghZLK0

The reason cops do this is because it is so strong and hard to break. One hand should do it too, suggest your left so that your right is free should you need to use it.

stopcops


Do like the cops

14.12.2010 18:24

If we all wore pretty much the same stuff, avoid distinctive trainers etc, all those photos they take will count for nothing. Riot gear cops can't be identified except if they wear their numbers, so we need to do the same to protect ourselves and each other.

anon


full security handbook

14.12.2010 20:23

at activistsecurity.org

worth checking out


To Felipe

15.12.2010 02:14

If you happen to purchase a telephone sim and use it on the day, make sure to use it only for that day on a pay as you go basis and to give it away to another telephone user at the end of the day. Then ensure that the SIM is used again before disposal. This creates what researchers call a crowd. Essentially, a lot of obfustication of telephony traffic.

cheap handsets are available for a tenner which avoids using your regular telephone which contains a number (IMEI) that is quite separate from the SIM. For this reason, the actual handset is identifiable separate to the SIM. It is this number that the Telephony industry uses to identify stolen telephones. 10% of IMEIs are not unique as they can be cloned.

The IMEI is usually available by typing *#06# or is located on the plate underneath the battery and reference tools are available online. ( http://www.numberingplans.com/?page=databases)

Logie Baird


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