Survive Like A Counterintelligence Secret Agent

Sevelx | April 13, 2016 | Survival

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As some of you know, before I was a blogger, I spent many years as a Counterintelligence Agent, training and working with some of the best government agents and Special Forces personnel in the world. Most of that involved either conducting surveillance or counter-surveillance or activities where you had to know how blend in or find people trying to blend in.

Over the years, I saw some pretty common mistakes when it comes to doing things that give you away to someone who may be targeting you in situations that you may actually face someday.

This post won’t make you into a secret agent, but it may be the one thing that saves your life, whether you find yourself in a short-term natural disaster, are traveling through a foreign country with a high kidnapping rate, or even if some worst-case event happens and you find yourself living in a collapsed society like we’ve seen in several countries around the world.

1. Demeanor is your biggest ally and your biggest enemy

The absolute number one way I’ve gotten into places I wasn’t supposed to was by my demeanor. You learn early on in the military, or at least the Army, to “walk with a purpose.” That’s actually the biggest key to looking like you’re supposed to be somewhere and not standing out.

Luckily for security and surveillance personnel, most people get their infiltration and surveillance training from Hollywood – and they suck at it.

If you’re walking through an area and don’t want to be noticed, act like you’re supposed to be there. It helps to look like you’re in the middle of something important so they don’t automatically assume you’re just walking through.

If you’re not walking through and need to hang out for a while, you still need to try to not stand out. If all else fails, do what everyone else is doing. If people are mostly sitting in an area, you should be sitting. If they’re all studying, you should find something to read. You don’t want to be the odd man out.

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2. Dressing for OPSEC doesn’t mean a disguise

Here’s another one that gives a lot of people away – what you wear. A lot of people think that trying to not be noticed means wearing something like this. Don’t do that. Whether you’re trying to watch someone and not be noticed or trying to not be picked out of a crowd, the point isn’t to look different, it’s to not be noticed and remembered.

Your goal, whether you’re trying to walk through an area you might not supposed to be in, or you’re trying to not be the one picked out of the crowd to be their next victim, is not to look like someone else – it’s to not be noticed.

It’s also more than just not looking like you’re the one that has a big fat wad in their wallet or an expensive watch, you don’t want to be the one that catches their eye in a crowd so they see if you have a watch on in the first place.

Essentially, this is the same thing as your demeanor. In most cases, you’ll want to dress like others there. If everyone’s dressed in board shorts and t-shirts, you don’t want to be in a long-sleeved dress shirt and khakis. If you’re in the yuppie part of town, you don’t want to be dressed in a sweatsuit.

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3. Don’t let your guard down at home

I spent a lot of years as a security advisor to different embassies and agencies around the world. That meant that I had to provide advice and reports of the TTPs (Tactics, Technics, and Procedures) of any threats, and any observed vulnerabilities, to embassy or government personnel living as I was – amongst the population.

One of the things I noticed was that once people got to their home, or hotel, or hut, they let their guard down. Now, granted, staying 100% vigilant at all moments isn’t possible, but there are certain things you can do to help keep your home from catching their notice or giving them info they could use to target you.

Just as with your demeanor and your dress, a key point is to not stand out.

If your neighbors park their car in the garage – you do too. If they have a clean yard – you do too.

Also, if you’re living in a foreign country, don’t have something like a Terrible Towel hanging in your window, or anything else that could give you away as a person not from around there. If anything, pick a local team or the host country’s flag.

Don’t forget some of the general security aspects at home either, that may allow someone to get an easier look to see if there’s something different about you.

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