Paranoid? This Won't Help (Extra)

In class we discussed the ways in which technology use keeps us constantly connected to large organizations, whether we like the association or not.  Cell phone companies have a detailed record of any conversational history.  Websites such as Google monitor our popular searches and accordingly rank information displayed.  ATM cash transactions and purchase receipts can be tracked across country.  The list goes on and on.  In the end,  its the government who can compile all these technological breadcrumbs and track anyone's trail regardless of the measures of secrecy they take. 

The question of escape from government surveillance prompted "Wired" magazine writer Evan Ratliff to try an experiment of his own.  In an article titled, "Gone Forever: What Does it Take to Really Disappear?" Ratliff first decribes the story that motivated him concerning a man named Matthew Sheppard.  Sheppard succeeded in faking his death and escaping from his family for a couple months, leaving misdirecting clues and convincing evidence behind him (Ratliff 5).  Yet after months hiding from the law he contacted his family to let them know he was alive and they carefully moved into a motel under an alias (5).  The family existed happily for a while but authorities were able to finally catch him despite his secrecy.  

"South Dakota-based federal agents pulled up an address for the family and contacted the landlord. “I rented to that guy,” he told them upon seeing Sheppard’s picture, “but his name is John Howard.” The alias led quickly to Howard’s very Sheppard-like rèsumè, still posted on Monster.com. Then, in a scene befitting Sheppard’s most paranoid fears, officers staked out the house, setting up in trees nearby, waiting for him to appear" (6). 

Although he took many precautions, Sheppard could not escape even the slightest of trails that was left behind.  After realizing what implications this story provided, Evan Ratliff decided to attempt his own escape.  He sent out a challenge in Wired announcing that he was officially going "off the grid" and that if anyone found him they would win $5,000 (6).  Participants were able to search from August until September to recieve the prize.  Sure enough, despite the drastic measures Ratliff took to hide, he was tracked down by the electronic records of receipts days before the deadline.  It just comes to show the basic, frightening fact that because of our electronic usage we are able to be constantly surveilled and captured if necessary.

   






http://www.wired.com/vanish/2009/08/gone-forever-what-does-it-take-to-really-disappear/2/