Avoid Being Picked Out in a Crowd

Avoid Being Picked Out in a Crowd

In public, you may need to conceal yourself in a crowd. Criminals especially with attempt to pick you out from a crowd to be targeted. The purpose of this guide is to make you as invisible to the public eye as possible.

Don't try and stand out. If you have the mentality that you want to stand out, then you will. You won't blend in to the crowd if you are making a scene. Blending in is 50% mental.Make your figure consist of nothing more then clothing. Anything loose, such as headphone cords, chains, or straps, draw attention. Large moving masses with little detail attract less attention the large moving masses with detail. To conceal things inside of your body, wear a jacket. Put your headphones inside of your jacket, lift your watches under your sleeves, keep your pants loose so that your wallet doesn't create an outline, and wear some kind of cap to obscure your eyes. Wear neutral colors. Light grey, dark green blue, black, and white do not attract much attention. Off colors such as orange and blue, yellow and purple, or bright green and red naturally attract the eyes.Dyed hair is especially bad, and human eyes are naturally drawn to it. Also, odd hairstyles will have the same effect.Don't look like you're carrying anything important. If you must carry something important, try to keep it as small as possible, or in a backpack.Shave any facial hair off. A clean shave will be less likely to attract attention then scruffy or full bearded. If you wear glasses regularly, attempt to wear contacts. If not, wear a hat or other head covering to conceal the glasses.Move with the crowd around you, and head in the general direction that the crowd is going. Don't try and cut across streets, or go in the reverse direction.

When driving a car, keep your body as parallel to the seat as possible. This decrease your outline and is less likely to draw attention. Obey all traffic laws as well. If you are going to conceal carry, do so with a legal permit. Keep the weapon in a concealed holster and do not draw your weapon unless you deem there is a threat. Move like you would normally. Try to keep your head looking forward, or slightly towards the ground. If something catches the crowd's attention, move your gaze to mimic the crowd. Move as far away from the street as possible. This will keep you from being grabbed straight off of the street. Learn to act like the locals do. If you're in a third world country, chances are you won't be walking around in a parka with three iPods. However, if you're in Manhattan in the middle of December, walking around in a bikini is going to be a dead giveaway. If you have the time, survey the area you are going to be walking through. Chose the areas which are the darkest, as people naturally have a harder time seeing in dark areas. Also choose places where the sun will shine directly perpendicular to you, as this will conceal many of your facial features. (To get an idea of how this works, get a piece of paper. Write a word down on it. Roll the piece of paper in to a cylinder and shine a light on to it, the look at it from the opposite direction.) Travel in the most well populated places possible. The larger number of people available, the less likely you will be selected as an individual target.

Move behind police officers if possible, or as close as possible next to them. People naturally draw their attention to the police officers, not the people next to them. This also gives yourself your own personal body guard.Pretend like no one is going to actually find you, and go about your business as normal. Do normal things for the area.If you are going to carry a backpack, carry a normal sized one. Small backpacks are easily stolen, large backpacks, such as those for hiking, are easily picked out. Police are also your best friends on crowded streets. Follow them directly, and keep a fair distance behind them so not to tailgate.If you think you need a quick getaway, look for large clusters of people, perhaps moving specifically to one building. Follow the crowd, or get in to the middle of the crowd. Business suits attract more eyes then normal, and so does military uniforms. Wear simple clothes such as blue jeans, slacks, sweatshirts, skullcaps, beanies, t-shirts, shorts, and if the weather provides, sunglasses.If you are being followed, head towards the nearest building an enter it. Banks are your best option.