Confidentiality Question

[Hoi Polloi]

Your voter registration card is public info, often made available online. When you vote, your name is logged by precinct and also often posted online. Your car registration is public as well. There are books which go through how to keep your info off-grid. You're already doing so much. It's worth it to take those extra steps.

Unfortunately, all that is easily overriden. One call to your local utility provider by someone who knows your name and birthday who says, "We haven't been receiving our bill so I want to make sure you have the right address." will most likely end up with the person getting your current address if they have any little bit of con in them. An extra layer of protection you can take is to ask all of your providers (cable, phone, water, Visa, everything) to use your wife's maiden name as a password before talking to you, then choose some random name with no connection to you that wouldn't be guessed as that "maiden name."

Lastly, the stalker regs themselves are not teethless. It is the police who refuse to do anything about it because the DAs kick it back and do nothing that is the real issue. If you can get an officer or a DA in your corner, you will find that things can change rather quickly.

[KFP]

Sorry to hear about all of your trouble with this guy. This is something that you may already know about, but it was an eye opener for me: viewtopic.php?f=83&t=37155&p=440685&hil ... to#p440685" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ScottDLS]

Your voter registration card is public info, often made available online. When you vote, your name is logged by precinct and also often posted online.

This is the hardest one to handle and still exercise your right to vote.

Your car registration is public as well.

No problem. Vehicles can be registered in the name of a Trust or other legal entity with no requirement to list home address.

Unfortunately, all that is easily overriden. One call to your local utility provider by someone who knows your name and birthday who says, "We haven't been receiving our bill so I want to make sure you have the right address." will most likely end up with the person getting your current address if they have any little bit of con in them. An extra layer of protection you can take is to ask all of your providers (cable, phone, water, Visa, everything) to use your wife's maiden name as a password before talking to you, then choose some random name with no connection to you that wouldn't be guessed as that "maiden name."

Just like OP's house and car, utilities and other services can be in the name of a Trust, Corporation, or other legal entity with different mailing address and a registered agent other than OP to have authority over them. No problem there.

[hangfour]

All I can say is that you are doing the right thing by getting a CHL. Ultimately, there is no substitute for being prepared. You and yours will be in my prayers.

[saguaro]

Thanks for the kind comments! You all are very knowledgable.

I was able to talk to the DA in Austin and the local DA in our county yesterday. There is a way for individuals to use a PO Box on there DL (and voter registration), however, you need to fill out an application and be approved by the DA. Something called the Address Confidentiallity Program. My local cops didn't know anything about it, and the first person that answered the phone at the DA didn't either. It helps if you are a crime victim already, but they look at each circumstance individually. They set up a free forwarding PO Box in Austin for two years that you can use for all of your legal documents. After two years they reevaluate your situation and either extend it or toss you back into the fire. More info here: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/victims/acp.shtml I should know more in the coming days.

Good point on the utility data. All of our utilities associated with the address are paid under the trusts' name using a seperate checking account. Seems kind of crazy that anyone has to take measures like that to protect their privacy, but that is the world now I guess. The cars are still under my name; probably a good idea to change those over at some point too.

We do have a couple good deterrent dogs at home. A male rottweiler (who is absolutely obsessed with my wife, in a good way!) and a Chow/Shepherd Mix. We also have a pretty good perimeter - the house is about 1,000 feet off the road with a locking gate (take that Google Earth Streetview! ), and the dogs are free to roam around the circumference of the house. We are fortunate to also have enough room to be able to practice shooting in the back of the property. Like I guess everyone else here, I believe in preparing for the worst while hoping for the best!

[Kythas]

Thanks for the kind comments! You all are very knowledgable.

I was able to talk to the DA in Austin and the local DA in our county yesterday. There is a way for individuals to use a PO Box on there DL (and voter registration), however, you need to fill out an application and be approved by the DA. Something called the Address Confidentiallity Program. My local cops didn't know anything about it, and the first person that answered the phone at the DA didn't either. It helps if you are a crime victim already, but they look at each circumstance individually. They set up a free forwarding PO Box in Austin for two years that you can use for all of your legal documents. After two years they reevaluate your situation and either extend it or toss you back into the fire. More info here: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/victims/acp.shtml I should know more in the coming days.

Good point on the utility data. All of our utilities associated with the address are paid under the trusts' name using a seperate checking account. Seems kind of crazy that anyone has to take measures like that to protect their privacy, but that is the world now I guess. The cars are still under my name; probably a good idea to change those over at some point too.

We do have a couple good deterrent dogs at home. A male rottweiler (who is absolutely obsessed with my wife, in a good way!) and a Chow/Shepherd Mix. We also have a pretty good perimeter - the house is about 1,000 feet off the road with a locking gate (take that Google Earth Streetview! ), and the dogs are free to roam around the circumference of the house. We are fortunate to also have enough room to be able to practice shooting in the back of the property. Like I guess everyone else here, I believe in preparing for the worst while hoping for the best!

Sounds like you have things under control, as much as you can. I had no idea something like the Address Confidentiality Program exists. Seems like it might be easier to get into the Witness Protection Program.

[bdickens]

From http://www.cityofcarrollton.com/index.aspx?page=137

Pet Limit

The City of Carrollton has a pet limit of 2 cats OR 2 dogs on any premises within the City that has no enclosed backyard fencing. No more than 3 dogs and 3 cats may be kept in a rear yard providing an enclosure such as a fence.

Cats don't care about the law.

[PUCKER]

Just throwing this out there about using a PO Box, I wouldn't say it's a guarantee of total invisibility. It just depends on how determined the stalker is. Once the PO Box (or drop-mail) location is found (unless you set it up as a forwarding address - meaning that mails are sent to a pack-n-mail type of place and there is an agreement to then forward to another PO Box, that may be an idea for you) then the stalker can just play the waiting game and sit in the parking lot for however long and wait until you/your wife show up and then tail you home. Hope this helps.