Serious Business, Not a Game
Months ago I wrote an article on how to follow someone in a vehicle without being seen. Following someone on foot is similar in some ways but is different and involves different techniques. There is no guarantee that you will not be seen but using these techniques will make you far more invisible to the person you are following. These techniques are used by professionals such as private investigators and take a long time to perfect. Once again I have to reiterate that this is for educational purposes only. I do not recommend anyone do this since you could be breaking the law in some jurisdictions.
Learning Patterns
Ideally, you would want to follow someone a few times to learn their patterns, many times you only get one shot. In that case you need to know as much about the person as possible and you need knowledge of the area you will be in.
Find a map of the area and study the points of possible interest such as coffee shops, subways, bus stops and parking lots. You need to know where the person you're following may stop, change direction or get into a vehicle.
Distance and Obstructions
As with vehicle surveillance the people between you and the person are called (pieces of) shade. Depending on how many people you have between you and the person will determine how far you will stay back. If you have a lot of people between you and the person, say 5-10, you could comfortably stay back a short distance. If there is nobody between you and the subject then you will have to keep a very wide berth since anytime the person turns around all they will see is you. After three times looking around and seeing you they will definitely get suspicious.
Generally, you want to keep a certain amount of seconds between you and the subject, say 3-4 seconds. If the person is leery or suspicious you will have to lengthen that amount of time. The reason is when someone suspects they are being followed and they turn a corner they will look behind them. The trick is to delay the moment you round the same corner so the subject has already looked away again. The subject may wait 3 seconds, then look back for another 3, then turn back and continue walking.
Another option on a street that is not busy is to follow on the opposite side of the street a little ways back from the person. This technique however increases the odds of losing the person.
Don't Look Suspicious
First of all never ever make eye contact with the person, if you do then you might as well go home. Dress how you would normally dress for the weather. If its a cloudy day out don't wear sunglasses because that wouldn't make any sense and would just draw attention to yourself. Wearing all black clothes may seem like a smart thing to do but its not always the best option. You want to wear the most common and neutral colours possible which are greys and browns mixed with blacks. You also want to have something to do just in case the subject turns around and looks your way. Ideally, it would be looking at your cell phone since it seems everyone is looking at their cell phones these days. You can use a flyer, map or pamphlet as well. If the person seems to be looking right at you then another trick that is widely used is to do something embarrassing or vulgar that will force the person to look away. Examples could be: picking your nose, scratching your crotch or turning around and bending over to pick something up. Whatever will force them to look away.
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| Trying to dress less conspicuous will make you stick out more. |
Tracking to a Location
At some point the person will stop at a location and enter it. Determine if this is the final location of the person or not. If its a coffee shop and its early morning then its more than likely that the person is just stopping to get coffee. Stop and wait for the person to exit and continue to follow them.
Usually when a person exits a building onto a sidewalk they will instinctively look the opposite way they will be walking first, then look back and start walking. Just be aware of this by being obstructed from view in some way. It doesn't have to be much just a little since the person will only have a quick cursory view of the direction they came from. Stand behind a tree, street sign or garbage can, again looking at your phone.
Final Location
If the person stops at a building that you believe is going to be the persons final location then you will do the opposite of what you did at the other location. Most likely the final location will be a business. In this case you will continue walking and pass the location. At this point you may want to make a note of the address or name of the business. It is important at this point not to slow down, enter the business or make it look obvious that you are interested in the building at all. Walk past and then turn down another street to double-back. Do not double-back past the same building again.
Following someone is all about blending in and not appearing to be out of place. The less attention you draw to yourself the better and this goes for other people as well not just the person you are following. An investigator for instance can get burned by any other person who happens to notice something suspicious going on. Some people say to bring a change of clothes which is not a bad idea but sometimes this can backfire. A person may get suspicious if they see you in one set of clothes then see you again in another set. If they recognize your face then you have wasted your time changing clothes. Remember, sometimes the best thing to do if you think you have been seen is to stop and walk away.
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