Send to PrinterPrivacy Rights Clearinghouse / UCAN
Copyright 1998 by: Please visit my new homepage: www.donray.com Note: (These books are available at: http://www.donray.com/bookstore.html) Don't sue anyone Remote voice mail Consider not voting Don't enter contests Get married overseas Private post office box Postal Service P.O. box Don't get a radio license Don't get parking tickets Don't file for bankruptcy Get a confidential marriage Get on "No junk mail" lists Don't return warranty cards Don't have a messy divorce No more personalized plates Don't run for political office Non-published phone number Don't write letters to the editor Don't end up in U.S. Tax Court Use a door slot or locking mail box Don't forget to return library books Sign up now for Caller ID Blocking Check your credit report once a year Don't use "preferred customer" cards Go to traffic school if you get a ticket Get on "No soliciting phone calls" list Don't go to court to change your name No phone number on voter registration Don't complete customer survey forms Don't contribute to political campaigns Have parents' assets put in living trusts Don't get a concealed weapon's permit At college, have your address restricted Don't broadcast your CB radio call sign Don't fill out a forwarding address form Tear up the carbons on your charge records Don't own an airplane or boat in your name Use an out of state corporate filing company Don't get behind on your mortgage payment Have assessor's tax bill sent to someone else Don't dial 800 numbers from a secure phone Don't use your ATM card to purchase anything Don't pay someone to be in a Who's Who book Don't get into disputes with landlords or tenants Have pet licenses registered in your kids' names Don't do something so stupid that you'd get sued Don't show up the day they shoot school pictures Remember that building permits are public record Don't register your pattern at the department store Don't put identifying symbols/stickers on your car Put out your trash in front of someone else's house Request to be omitted from reverse/city directories Don't drop business cards in the "Free Lunch" bowl Have documents notarized in another state or county Use P.O. box for driver's license and car registration Give all your things away to your kids before you die Be creative with your occupation on voter registration Don't put "Student of the Month" stickers on your car Don't hire young baby sitters who live near your house Print post office street address on checks w/box number Don't put your Ham radio call sign on your license plates Consider not printing an obituary on deceased loved ones The most private form of business is a limited partnership Have a password put on your phone/utility/credit accounts Don't use personal property as collateral to borrow money Instruct magazines/organizations to not share your address Don't incorporate in California (or your state of residence) Obliterate your name that's been written on your gas meter Don't have garage sales at your house if a permit is required Don't give out credit card numbers over the phone or modem Don't apply for citizenship in the area where you want to live Use money orders and your P.O. box when you use mail order Don't say anything on a cellular/cordless phone that's sensitive Don't say your phone credit card aloud when others are around Don't ignore the calls of bill collectors or government agencies Instruct family members on limiting information they volunteer Don't place classified ads displaying your secure phone number If you kill yourself, address your suicide note to someone specific Don't sign guest registers at museums, national parks, caverns, etc. Don't give out your Social Security number without protesting first Settle or win all lawsuits quickly to eliminate outstanding judgments Remember how easy it is for people to listen in on baby monitor radios Imagine everything you type as e-mail being put on highway billboards Put your real estate into a family trust-but one not named after your family Don't get behind on alimony/child support payments and then leave the state If you must give the bank your mother's maiden name, give some other name Don't file fictitious name statements-use your real name (Don Ray Plumbing) Read every contract or application and look for waivers of your right to privacy Use just your zip code and P.O. Box number for return address (Box 91503-4375) Don't announce your phone number on your outgoing answering machine message Don't rent videos from stores that require personal information-use cash deposits Don't put your name on the outside of your apartment mail box-put it on the inside Use short version of your name when you can (Bill Jenkins-not Wm. J. Jenkins, Jr.) Use a notary public who personally knows you and doesn't need your driver's license Don't let sales clerks write down your drivers license number on credit card purchases Get a copy of everything The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse puts out (1-619-298-3396) Don't write checks at Radio Shack or other stores that computerize your address and phone Don't permanently stick company, school or apartment complex parking stickers on you car If you plan on moving into another house you're buying, have a straw party buy and hold it for you Don't be a best man or maiden of honor. If you do, scribble your address on the marriage certificate Don't bank where they allow phone-in computer access using Social Security numbers as passwords Make sure you have a current copy of Don Ray's A Public Records Primer and Investigator's Handbook Have your main phone line installed in a nearby friend's home and use call forwarding to your secret number Get a copy of Don Ray's Checking Out Lawyers to learn more about public records.
Don Ray
P.O. Box 4375
Burbank, CA 91503-4375
(818) THE-NEWS
Fax: (818) 843-3223
donray(at)donray.com
Don Ray is author of Public Records Primer and Investigator's Handbook, California Edition. He has also written Checking Out Lawyers -- a must for people who want to know how to check out anyone . or . how they can check you out. Another publication is Diggin' Up Gold on the Old Paper, a workbook for interpreting public documents correctly.
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