MAY WE RECOMMEND…?
For local job references, a good trick is to ask, or pay, a businessman’s secretary to give all the goody information right over the telephone.
Provide the phone number on the application, naturally, but remember that the number may very well be verified first by a call to Information.
When it checks out, your application will appear quite honest, won’t it?
Personal references on either employment or credit applications are a laugh. They are virtually not verified. Provide them, of course, but feel no compunction whatever in lifting random names and assumed relationships right from the phone book. A locally known doctor or minister is a safe bet, too.
For credit references bear in mind that outfits like big department stores and most credit unions will not give out information to ANYONE on one of their customer’s or member’s accounts. This means you can use any number of these references with impunity when applying for credit as the lender will not be able to verify one way or the other if your application is true–a fact he will definitely NOT tell you, however. A complete guide to establishing credit and obtaining credit cards is our own book,
CREDIT! Very useful, indeed.
Consider using a typewriter for all your correspondence, as it is not only more impersonal, but also impossible to be “traced” to you. Whereas handwriting *can* give you away, typewriting cannot. Only the machine itself can be shown to be the one used for a particular piece of correspondence. Electric machines are even more impersonal than manual in that the striking pressure is uniform for all letters. Manual typewriting can show that you have a weak “a” or a strong “k” or “c”, for example. Be careful, too, of allowing the keys to clog to the point that the enclosed portions of letters begin to fill in. When the “e” and the “o” look alike, it’s time to get out the gum cleaner. Typewriters using the newer carbon ribbons do not have this problem.
As an added layer of protection for your correspondence, consider mailing a Xerox *copy* of the letter. There will be enough distortion in the copy to make tracing you mighty difficult. Should you begin using a typewriter regularly, you might plan to trade it in every six months or so for another model, different typeface, etc. They are rather cheap to rent, so this is a good possibility, too. Keep ‘em guessing….
When going from the “old you” to the “new you”, it is usually a good idea to drop any old hobbies that could provide the basis for an informal “stakeout” of your possible activities. If it is known that you can never pass a museum or fishing pier without indulging yourself, you have an automatic lead to those who might want to go looking for you.
Changing activities can be an excellent way of building your new identity.
Not only will the old ways fade faster, but your new acquaintances will provide the support and interest in creating the new identity more rapidly and completely.
Whenever you rent a new place to live, insist on the right to change the locks. Refuse to give the landlord the new key, too. Many times people have arrived home to find a snoopy landlord (lady, too) going though personal belongings, papers, etc. Items and possessions which might tend to give someone the wrong ideas about your identity, activities, interests, etc., should be stored in locked boxes of sturdy construction.
Misleading items can be placed innocently in the open. Be observant of items being rearranged or moved, too. Until you’re secure in your new location, you might take the precaution of placing hairs on door jambs, threads across the threshhold, matches on tops of doors. When choosing locks and keys, select those not readily available in the area.
