How to Disappear or Vanish without a Trace in the Philippines
There are many places in the world where you can disappear or vanish without a trace, but the US isn't one of those places. If you live in the US, you should already know that big brother, as depicted in "1984", is alive and well there. You have widespread government wire-tapping, red light cameras, video surveillance and a whole host of privacy-intruding technology to deal with on a daily basis.
Collected Data and Tracing People
The US social security system was put into place way back in the 1930s. The crafters of the legislation had no way of knowing how the data collected would be used later in the 20th century. Social security numbers, with the corresponding names and dates of birth, are attached to anything dealing with credit, jobs and other things that would take me hours to list.
The credit reporting agencies collect related information. As far as credit goes, they know what you've bought or sold, how late you are with payments and what your current employment status is. Credit ratings are now tied into different kinds of insurance and insurance rates are higher for people with bad credit.
Unless you live 100 percent from your wallet, never use credit, don't have any bank accounts and don't work in a normal kind of job, you can be found anywhere in the US. It's not just the FBI or other government agencies that can find you. In fact, government agencies don't have the manpower to track down everyone, even if they do have the technology and the tracking information.
There are some really bad people out there, who should not have access to the data, but have access to all of the data the agencies collect. If both the good guys and the bad guys can find you, what can you do to escape?
Move to Another Country
If you want to disappear or vanish without a trace, you have to move to another country. Impoverished countries like the Philippines are perfect places to get away from the privacy-intruding agencies (and non-agencies) of the US and other modern societies.
It's easier said than done, but it can be done. Other than my government pension arriving at a Philippines bank, the US has no way of tracking me in the Philippines. Heck, the Philippines can't even track me in the Philippines. There are only a few entities in the Philippines which have any information on me at all:
- US Embassy
- Philippine Bureau of Immigration
- Philippine National Bank
- Philippine Airlines
- Continental Airlines
- Certain stores
What information do these places have? The majority of them only have a name, address and telephone number. Only the US agencies have more.
How to Completely Disappear or Vanish without a Trace
Although the Philippines has little information on me, they still have some. The local government agencies could find me at home at almost any time because I don't have a job to go to. What if I wanted to disappear completely off the radar?
I'm a man of modest requirements and I'm able to adapt to whatever circumstances I'm in. While I love to drink coffee and tea, I could do without them if completely necessary. I can eat almost anything edible. The key word is "almost".
If I really wanted to disappear, all I would have to do is to live with a relative in one of the provinces and forgo having any money — I could make enough through ingenuity to get by. Even still, it wouldn't be hard to get to my government pension when necessary. My location wouldn't be compromised — I would simply have to take trips to bank branches in other provinces.
The vast majority of people have nothing to identify them with, other than second-party vouching. Only certain employees are registered with the government social security department (mostly government employees) and there are no credit reporting agencies. You can purchase almost anything on installment plans because cash is paid each and every time. Very few people have credit cards here and most stores don't accept anything but cash.
Advantages and Disadvantages
There are both advantages and disadvantages to living in a place where you've effectively vanished without a trace. The good people can't be found and neither can the bad people. It's a double-edged sword.
One of the advantages of escaping to a foreign country where you can't be traced it to avoid dealing with debt collectors and credit card debt on a permanent basis. After all, agencies in countries like the Philippines don't have access to credit reports generated by a third party. Getting an unsecured credit card is some countries is virtually impossible anyway.
At the end of the day, I'd rather take my chances without all my information being collected, traded, bought and sold without my knowledge or consent. At some point in the future, I may be moving back to the US. In the coming years, I'm going to learn how to stay under the radar there as well, without giving up on all of the modern conveniences.
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Hi RT,
Another way they find you is through cell phones. If you have one, they can find you… They can probably even do that in the Philippines.
Oh and if you disappear, better not update your blog, as they may be able to track down your IP address. Of course, we all hope you won't disappear.
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Well, I didn't think of it because I don't use a cell phone very often.
Oh, I'm not planning to disappear. I wrote this because I met a person who has already effectively disappeared.
In the Philippines, you can buy prepaid sim cards. They're available practically anywhere in the Philippines. Even the telecom companies won't have your records.
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Thanks RT – now I know where to go when I want to get away from it all!
Interesting post, but I think I'll stay right here. I would not want to live in an impoverished country. Just saying. I've been to Mexico and I wouldn't be able to stand living there. I'm happy right here. Have a great day RT.
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Very interesting post. So did you live in the USA then decide to move once big brother became a big reality? And why did you choose the Philippines? Did you just do some research and find it's the best place to vanish? Were there other places you thought about going to before the Philippines?
Either way this is an interesting post, I like it.
You'll have to read my about page, Alex. It had nothing to do with this post.
Excellent information on how to truly disappear without a trace. Sometimes its hard to realize that every electronic transaction we do in the US is kept track of and is really not private if you think about it.
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I could totally live in a small country, even an impoverished one. For the most part life just seems a lot simpler in countries where money is not so prevalent. Especially if you can make money on line and live in a poor country. My good friend from Quito, Ecuador says that his father supports a family of 4 on around $500 per month. I made that when I worked at a grociery store when I was 15. now I make a lot more than that. If I could make the money I am making right now and move to some place like that then I'd be fine.
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the mobile phone thing can be gotten around by getting a prepaid card. no need to provide identification when you buy a sim, so it's rather anonymous.
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Good point, but I still have the feeling that if they really want to trace you they could, at least in the US. They'd still be able to track the calls made from the cell phone with the prepaid card, where and when they were made from. They'd also know who you were calling. Wouldn't be that hard for them to put two and two together!
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I think the trick to living in the US (and Canada!) is to keep everything on the up and up, and make your records and movement appear very bland and regular. Then, "live out of your wallet" for things you don't want tracked. The best place to hide something is in plain site, underneath of normalcy.
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I know where I am vacationing next. Sounds like a great place to be if u want to turn off the cell phone and drink a couple Corona's.
Dutch Schultz
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RT says:
"At some point in the future, I may be moving back to the US. In the coming years, I'm going to learn how to stay under the radar there as well, without giving up on all of the modern conveniences."
Crystal says: Sure, just ask a criminal.
You do not have to vanish to be be invisible.
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Good to know when the government is coming after me. LOL
I for one am sick of big brother government.
I will not agree with you … You easily trace if you using electronic things with you like cell phones… Even the Philippine too have that technology I thing… But your blog contain more information about how to escape, disappear from government….
Sounds like a good way to disappear. Personally I can't stand the credit bureaus in this country. They are like Nazis but for now they are a necessary evil.
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