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The Do It Yourself Detective
Disguises
We're still discussing your basic spy kit here and the next thing you may want to keep in it would be sunglasses, a couple of different colors or style hat, possibly a wig and I have found a reversible jacket to be helpful on occasion.
I'm not going to go into a long discussion about disguises, because I don't use them much. What I do find myself doing though is change my sillouette with the hats, sometimes a long hair wig. At times I will put on sunglasses and later take them off, just to make changes enough to throw off the target as they casually look at whoever is around them. The reversible jacket is actually for tailing someone on foot. Changing the jacket, hanging it over an arm, hat on, hat off, shades on, shades off, all in combination can be very effective disguises.
FM Receivers
Another device is an FM transmitter that is small, tunable, battery powered, has a reasonable range and costs less than $20.00. This device comes from Radio Shack and could be used to hear one side of a phone conversation or all the conversation in a room. For that matter a baby room monitor can do the same thing.
These devices are used mainly to detect behavior occurring behind your back. You could hear a plan develop to meet a lover or a drug dealer, just two simple examples. Remember there are laws governing eaves dropping and I'm not advocating breaking the law. I'm simply telling you of the devices that exist and how some are used. With that a word about telephone recorders and scanners would be prudent.
Your micro voice recorder will do the job when it comes to recording phone conversations. There are long play dedicated recorders available that you place and forget that will record 8 to 12 hours of conversation.
Scanners are another device that anyone can purchase. These devices can intercept a wide range of frequencies including police, fire department, aircraft and in some cases cordless telephones.
There are also units for sale that have been modified to listen in on cellular calls. This, of course, is illegal, but you are informed. Also available are computer programing devices that will allow you to listen as well as monitor your spouse's computer activities.
