• Make sure you buy lots of coffee, so you can stay up all night. You don’t want to fall asleep before the people you are spying on. When purchasing coffee, purchase doughnuts, enough for everyone.
• Find a window in your house that has a good view into a neighbor’s house or near by residence.
• Make sure the room you are in is very dark so the people in the other house cannot see you. This could be dangerous.
• Buy or find a pair or two of binoculars or a telescope, so you can get a close up clear view of what’s going on in there.
• While snooping, stay away from the window, and near the back of the room. That way, it’s harder to notice you.
• When spying, make sure that you have a hearing gadget, pen, note book, laptop, and binoculars. Devices for visual observation (e.g. camera) are also recommended.
• Have a disguise ready for when you go out. A good disguise should not be discreet and not very obvious – a Sherlock Holmes hat and trench coat is going too far. A disguise should have sun glasses (to keep your Identity), bag/brief case (to hold your gadgets), and anything else you think you will need. However, don’t wear sunglasses at night — it’s rather suspicious.
• Act normal while spying. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary of your neighborhood, or people will be suspicious.
• Have a sharp eye for catching things that don’t feel quite right.

Spying Tips:

• Don’t get caught, you could get charged for invasion of privacy or stalking.
• Enjoy coffee and drink slow so it lasts all night or until you are going to bed.
• Don’t make any sharp movements.
• It can also help to get a web cam, because when used with a program called Dorgem, it can be set to take pictures when motion is detected.

Spying Warnings:

• This could be dangerous, you could get charged if caught.
• If you’re spying on someone (for instance a suspicious neighbor) and it’s night, make sure to turn off the light in the room you’re spying from. That way the people who you are spying on can’t see you as well. Also, be sure not to open the curtains too much because you could risk being seen!
• Think, be smart, and do lots of research! If you don’t think, and learn things about being an amateur detective then you won’t get any where.
• keep your eyes open for trouble! But be careful and always know what you’re getting yourself into!
• Have satalite images of your neighboorhood. Google Earth is an easy option because it is free to download and has decent quality. Knowing the area well could be critical to your safety if you are in a confrontation.
• Make sure you have good senses-being able to see well (if it requires glasses/contacts, that’s OK), hear well, and be able to run at a pace that is reasonably fast.
• Avoid being seen when spying.
• Don’t get yourself into a sticky situation or you might not be able to get out of it.
• Don’t accuse someone of breaking a law unless you can prove it and don’t confront them about it- once you have proof, that’s as far as a normal citizen can go. After this point, it’s the police’s and governments’s job, by no means is it yours!
• Always remember to be discreet!
• Do not do anything cliche. Do not erect a newspaper wall every time your victim makes eye contact, etc.
• NEVER perform the job of a police man! You could get in trouble as well. If what someone is doing is illegal, don’t take matters into your own hands.

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