Street Addressing for Your P.O. Box

 

The US Postal Service (USPS) offers a “Street Addressing Service for Your P.O. Box”. When you sign up for street addressing, you use the physical address of the Post Office (i.e. 123 Main Street) along with your P.O. Box number (i.e. # 27) as your address. Thus, your address would take the format:

John Q. Public
123 Main Street #27
Anytown, XX 12345

 

Street addressing for your P.O. Box allows you to have packages from common carrier services, such as UPS and FedEx, delivered to your P.O. Box. This provides security for your deliveries, avoiding packages sitting all day at your front door where they may be seen and stolen by any passerby with ill intent.

 

Additionally, street addressing for your P.O. Box provides you with a layer of privacy, letting you protect your home address from being disclosed in many cases. The application form for the street addressing option says: “You may not use the street address option as your physical residence or place of business in legal documents. Misuse of your street address in this manner may result in closing your P.O. Box and may be in violation of civil and criminal laws.” So, you probably shouldn’t try to use the street addressing option to conceal your address on government forms, but in almost any other case the street addressing option will be just fine.

 

Not every Post Office offers the street addressing option, but by checking the USPS web-site at https://www.usps.com/manage/po-boxes.htm you can probably find a Post Office near you that offers this “Premium P.O. Box Service.” To use the street addressing option you must of course first rent a P.O. Box, providing the required “two forms of ID and proof of your residence”. It is worth noting however that Federal law requires either a subpoena or a court order before the Post Office is allowed to release this information about you to a third party. So, your actual residence information on file with the USPS has some protection under the law.

 

It is also interesting to note that while you have to show proof of residence when you first rent a P.O. Box, the USPS doesn’t check on you every year to be sure that you haven’t moved. Likewise, when renting a P.O. Box the primary box holder must provide ID and proof of residence, but the form allows for several other names of individuals who will receive mail at the box to be listed. If you rented a P.O. Box just prior to changing your residence, your new home address would not be listed at the Post Office. Of course, this assumes that your new residence is close enough to your old one to allow you to still pick up your mail from the P.O. Box.

 

If someone rented the P.O. Box for you and added your name to the list of authorized mail recipients, your ID and residence address wouldn’t be associated with the P.O. Box at all (just your name). If this person was then moving out of the area, and maybe didn’t know your home address to begin with, this would add another layer of privacy to your receipt of mail.

 

So, for security of your mail and package deliveries, the Street Addressing Service for Your P.O. Box is an excellent idea. For adding an additional layer of privacy to your life, it has some advantages, and is something that you might want to consider based on your personal threat model.

 



 

   



Arrest-Proof Yourself

 

Constitutional rights aren’t all that effective if you don’t know what they are.

 

Know Your Rights! Quiz | Electronic Frontier Foundation

 

 

 



Protect Your Money by Arrest-Proofing Yourself and Your Children
(Radical Personal Finance Podcast)

 

Arrest-Proof Yourself

What do you say if a cop pulls you over and asks to search your car? What if he gets up in your face and uses a racial slur? What if there’s a roach in the ashtray? And what if your hot-headed teenage son is at the wheel? If you read this book, you’ll know exactly what to do and say. More people than ever are getting arrested - usually for petty offenses against laws that rarely used to be enforced. And because arrest information is so easily available via the Internet, just one little arrest can disqualify you from jobs, financing, and education. This eye-opening book tells you everything you need to know about how cops operate, the little things that can get you in trouble, and how to stay free from the hungry jaws of the criminal justice system. It is now updated with new and important information on the right of the police to search your car; on guns, knives, and self-defense; and on changes in surveillance methods.

 

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent
Law professor James J. Duane became a viral sensation thanks to a 2008 lecture outlining the reasons why you should never agree to answer questions from the police - especially if you are innocent and wish to stay out of trouble with the law. In this timely, relevant, and pragmatic new book, he expands on that presentation, offering a vigorous defense of every citizen’s constitutionally protected right to avoid self-incrimination. Getting a lawyer is not only the best policy, Professor Duane argues, it’s also the advice law-enforcement professionals give their own kids. Using actual case histories of innocent men and women exonerated after decades in prison because of information they voluntarily gave to police, Professor Duane demonstrates the critical importance of a constitutional right not well or widely understood by the average American. Reflecting the most recent attitudes of the Supreme Court, Professor Duane argues that it is now even easier for police to use your own words against you. This lively and informative guide explains what everyone needs to know to protect themselves and those they love.

 

A Toast to Silence: Avoid Becoming Another Victim of Deceptive Police Tactics By Knowing When and How to Use the Power of Silence

A Toast to Silence challenges and rejects conventional thinking about police encounters, openly stating what is only whispered: the police lie. When police stop you, they exploit our popular culture of media-driven misinformation, your needless fear of arrest, and addiction to talking. Using misinformation and deception about your right not to answer questions and not to take sobriety tests, cops, with clever, friendly conversation that skillfully disguises lies, fool millions of Americans who are clueless about their right to remain silent into convicting themselves. A Toast to Silence shows how the seemingly forgotten right to silence, when used correctly at the right time, neutralizes ever-growing police power and ever-creative deception tactics. It details word for word what cops say to trick you into giving evidence, the basis for guaranteeing your arrest and conviction, before they recite to you the Miranda warning.

Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent
The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior.
 

 

BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters (YouTube Video)

 

Don't Talk to the Police (YouTube Video)  I highly recommend this video.

When you are arrested or charged with a crime you have many important rights. These rights are guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the Constitutions of your state, by statute, case law, and court rule. Knowing your rights is essential to safeguarding your personal security, privacy, and freedom.

What to do when stopped by police (ACLU Washington)

Know Your Rights

Know Your Rights When Encountering Law Enforcement - Booklet (24 pages)

Know Your Rights | Electronic Frontier Foundation

 

 

Sudo App for iOS

In a world consumed by Wikileaks, identity theft, security breaches, and public and private data miners, the time has come to fix what is wrong with the Internet - namely that everything we do is recorded, analyzed, stored, and sold to the highest bidder. Using strong anonymity and advanced encryption, our apps have been designed for use by everyday consumers for every part of their online world. The result is a platform that gives anyone the power to create a proxy - or avatar - for their identity that can be used in both the online and offline world to safeguard their data, while insuring the safety and security of their identity and online activity.

Welcome to Sudo. Send private messages, manage multiple phone numbers and email addresses, and create special-use avatars that last as long as you need them. A completely secure app, Sudo gives you up to nine free avatars - each with its own custom phone number and email address. Use your Sudo identity to protect yourself against hackers, trackers, online threats and identity theft. Now you can call, text and email anyone, internationally - even if they don’t have Sudo.

Get Sudo here: https://sudoapp.com

Listen to Sudo Strategies on the Complete Privacy & Security Podcast



Privacy & Security Podcasts

  

The Complete Privacy & Security Podcast

Radical Personal Finance

Crypto-Gram Security Podcast

The Privacy Paradox

Technology Podcast Series on Privacy Issues
 
NPR - Privacy & Security

Internet Citizen (Privacy & Security)

 

 

Firefox Send

 

Firefox Send lets you upload and encrypt large files (up to 1GB) to share online. When you upload a file, Firefox Send creates a link to pass along to whoever you want. Each link created by Firefox Send will expire after 1 download or 24 hours, and all sent files will be automatically deleted from the Firefox Send server. Firefox Send does not require an add-on, and can be used in any modern browser. Firefox Send requires JavaScript. 

 

Firefox Send also allows you to require a password before the files shared through the link can be accessed. You can (and probably should) encrypt the files you intend to share before you send them through Firefox Send.

 

Firefox Send is a web experiment (test program) created by Firefox. I like Firefox Send as a quick way of transferring a file to another individual, and think this web experiment is well-worth using.

 

Access Firefox Send here: https://send.firefox.com/ 

 

 



Bomb Threats & Explosive Recognition

 

 

 

 

 Reference Guides:

 

Homemade Explosives Recognition Guide

 

Indicators and Warnings for Homemade Explosives

 

 

Explosives Awareness Training:

 

Explosion Dynamics Course - This module teaches the foundational knowledge of explosion dynamics, which is a necessary precursor to investigating an explosion scene. This foundational knowledge includes the types of explosions, proper terminology when classifying explosions and explosion damage, explosion effects, important factors in the causes of naturally-occurring explosions, and the characteristics of explosives.

Mitigating the Effects of High-Explosive Blasts on Structures and Personnel - Mitigating the Effects of High-Explosive Blasts on Structures and Personnel (MEBSP) is a distance learning course that is focused on understanding the destructiveness of explosions, and the effects of blasts on structures. This course will include modeling of structures under explosions, physiological effects of blasts, and methodologies for investigating effectiveness of defensive measures and counter-terrorism planning. (This course must be taken from a .mil or a .gov network.)

Retail Security Awareness: Understanding the Hidden Hazards (IS-912) - The purpose of this course is to make persons involved in commercial retail operations aware of the actions they can take to identify and report suspicious purchases or thefts of products that actors could use in terrorist or other criminal activities. To achieve this goal, the course provides an overview of prevention steps aimed at identifying and monitoring high-risk inventory products and reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies. At the end of this course, the participants will be able to identify steps they can take to help prevent their inventory from being used to manufacture or deploy homemade explosives.

Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Explosive Precursors Point of Sale Training - this interactive course instructs sales personnel involved at the point of sale on behaviors and indicators that are reasonably indicative of potential terrorist and/or criminal bomb-making activity; how and where to report suspicious activity; and how to protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties when documenting information. It also instructs personnel of the types of suspicious activity that might be observed during their daily duties.

 



Crime Data Explorer

 



The Crime Data Explorer (CDE) makes nationwide crime data accessible to a wide range of users. View trends, download bulk datasets, and access the Crime Data API for reported crime at the national, state, and agency levels.

 

The CDE is a new interactive tool that enables law enforcement and the general public to more easily use and understand the massive amounts of UCR data currently published. Users of the site can:

• Search, sort, and compare national and state-estimated data and agency-level crime statistics from 1995-2016 by location, time period, and type of crime.
• View charts and graphs that break down data in a variety of formats.
• Select data to display in either summary statistics or incident-based reports.
• Download tailored reports, National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) information, and bulk datasets.
• Use the CDE’s Application Program Interface (API) to access data from 1960-2016.

 

The CDE went live on June 30, 2017. The initial phase of the CDE includes information available in the UCR data set from NIBRS and the historical Summary Reporting System. In addition, the CDE includes hate crime, assaults on law enforcement, police employee data, agency participation, cargo theft, and human trafficking.

 

Access the CDE here: https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/

 

 



Understanding the Insider Threat - Video

 



The Insider Threat video uses security and behavior experts to discuss how insider threats manifest in a variety of ways including terrorism, workplace violence, and breaches of cybersecurity. Understanding how to recognize and respond to these various types of insider threats, whether non-violent or violent, increases an organization's ability to protect both its people and sensitive information.

 

Click on URL https://www.dhs.gov/active-shooter-workshop-participant and expand the section "Insider Threat Trailer and Video" to access the video.

 

Note: In case you have network issues, consider following the below steps to save the video onto a computer for easier access and to avoid the need to log onto the website whenever you want to view it.

 

1. Start the video by clicking play
2. While the video is playing, right click the mouse
3. Select "save video as"
4. Choose location where the video will be saved onto the computer
5. Click "save"
6. Video (662 MB) should fully download onto the computer within 4 or 5 minutes.