7 Unusual Methods Criminals Use to Share Secret Messages

by Samuel White

Secret messages on porn sites, comments on articles… Perhaps criminals are chatting right in the comment section under this article. You have no idea what is really going on on the Internet!

The secrets of the underworld are easy to find on the Internet, just like the secrets of the secret services. We decided to delve into them and collected 7 methods of secret transmission of information that are used nowadays.

1. Hidden stashes

Another classic method that has become especially popular with the introduction of ubiquitous GPS access. You can hide secret messages (or even something illegal) or share GPS coordinates with the recipient in parks, at abandoned facilities in cities, and even on ordinary porches. The rest is a matter of technology.

2. Disposable SIM cards

The criminals activate such a SIM card, insert it into the phone, and then use it to send just one message. After that, the SIM card is destroyed. Even if the message is intercepted, it is impossible to track its senders. Interestingly, high-ranking employees of large corporations in the USA like using this method when they need to transfer important commercial information.

3. Email

The criminals use regular email services, only in a little more cunning way than just sending messages. For example, they create a new account that they use to write a secret message, but do not send it. This way, it ends up in the "Drafts" folder. And then, the addressee is given access to this email address. After reading the message, he/she deletes the account. Formally, no one sent or received any letters!

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4. Chat rooms

Fully encrypted messengers like Telegram and lately Clubhouse are great places for secret communication. Chat rooms where you can leave voice messages are one of the safest channels for information transfer nowadays. Not only can one enter the room only by invitation or knowing the password, but the creators of messengers also assure that messages left in the room are not recorded or stored. Thus, after the information has been shared, the chat room can be deleted forever without a trace!

5. Secret tattoos

In the United States, a method of transmitting messages through a tattoo on the skull was also used. The delivery guy was shaved, and a secret message was tattooed on his head. After that, he would grow his hair and set off to transmit information. Even if such a messenger fell into the hands of a hostile clan, it was impossible to find out anything about his mission. At the destination point, the letter was "unsealed": the delivery guy was shaved bald again.

6. Headlights signals

At night, American gangsters often communicate by flashing the headlights of a car. They have specific codes to indicate that their people are coming, or to warn that the cops are somewhere nearby.

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7. Marks on houses

This old method is used in the USA. Previously, people designated the religious affiliation of the house owner in this way (for example, fish images were found on the houses of Christians), but now they mean criminal connections. The bright and easily visible graffiti marks of a certain gang on the walls indicate that they are in control of the area. Less noticeable marks on the houses mean that one of the gang members lives here, so it is better to stay away from the house.