Being paranoid?

[Sportster]

I heard a noise outside a little while ago, so I looked out to see what it was. The noise was some guys mowing, but I saw a black unmarked SUV sitting across the street facing this way. When I looked at them with my binoculars they quickly pulled away.

They’re now sitting in the driveway next to my place. I wonder if it has something to do with the shooting that took place recently . . . or me? After all, I have gone through several background checks over the past month or so.Criminal record check, drug screen, etc, etc.

Several jobs I've applied for have put me through the ringer. One place does contract work for big name clients like Microsoft, Google, etc. They just secured a contract here in town and made me an offer. I accepted since it pays very well, but that's pending clearing all the checks. I cleared, so I just have to wait for the contract to start.

You can rest assured that my place is like a fortress with deadbolts, alarms on the doors, extra lighting, and special reinforced bars on the doors for when I go to bed. And if that isn't enough, I have enough big-bore fire power to bring down a herd of angry bison.

Seriously, I suspect they were some detectives watching or investigating where the shooting took place. It was a fluke, because this is a relatively quiet neighborhood . . . except for the noisy kids.

 

[Loren]

Hi, if the background checks were employment related, I'm not sure they'd do surveillance of any kind. Although, I suppose it could be possible for certain types of employment.

Easier said than done, but, perhaps try your best to take your mind off of it, by doing something that you enjoy. Can you go on an outing of some kind, today? If you are concerned that it is related to the shooting, maybe the authorities in your area are aware of the car and could put your mind at ease. Just a thought.

I hope all is well and your paranoia subsides, quickly. : )

 

[Judge]

It's possible they're law enforcement. Especially if the shooting was gang-related which may involve a whole separate division or task force of your particular police department.

But yeah, these days who isn't suspicious of any unmarked black SUV ?

It's also possible that another neighbor may be even more paranoid, requesting police presence for a time. Perhaps for good reason. The kind that they may not be in a position to share with others. But I'm just speculating.

 

[Joel's Hear]

There's a thin line between paranoia and observing that something seems fishy. They're probably agents trying to investigate the shootings. Be wary as a snake and harmless as a dove.

 

[Gritches]

Ask yourself, would somebody be sitting in an unmarked black SUV just for recreational purposes? No. That's so-called "law enforcement", and a nasty type of pig at that. If there was a shooting in your area, that's probably what it's about, assuming you aren't moving weight

That is absolutely hilarious about the binoculars. I mean, the fact that they booked it right away when you watched them right back is bad news because it confirms they were watching you specifically, but now you know something for sure.

In a past life I dealt with "covert" surveillance quite a bit. In your position, I'd just act natural. Assuming you aren't and haven't committed any major crimes, you have nothing to worry about, it's just that those golden-haired angels who protect us don't really care about your right to privacy.

 

[Mattymatt]

I heard a noise outside a little while ago, so I looked out to see what it was. The noise was some guys mowing, but I saw a black unmarked SUV sitting across the street facing this way. When I looked at them with my binoculars they quickly pulled away. They’re now sitting in the driveway next to my place. I wonder if it has something to do with the shooting that took place recently . . . or me? After all, I have gone through several background checks over the past month or so:

View attachment 48336​

What kind of background checks and what for?

 

[Theta.G]

To be on the safe side make sure all windows and doors are locked and perhaps you can pick up some cheap but loud alarms that you can put on vulnerable entry points so... whatever it is.... if your sleeping or otherwise occupied with something and someone tries to gain entry you'll be awoken, alert and ready. Your neighbors will be awoken from the loud alarm so there will be witnesses.

While the natural thought process is that they are just investigating, and it is a reasonable conclusion it could be different from what it seems. Say, if the group responsible for the shooting also rolled up in a black suv one day and started digging for witnesses.
I say this without knowing the details and subtleties, just trying to illustrate other possibilities and why some barely troublesome cautionary measures would be good to set up.
Whether paranoid or vigilant best to err on the side of caution.

 

[Peter Morrison]

You're not paranoid. It's a good idea to be cautious. But, then again, the SUV could have pulled over for any number of reasons - most of them quite innocent. If the guys in the yard were mowing the grass, perhaps they chose to sit in the shade for a rest.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Man when ever I was coming back from school as a teenager and I heard an ambulance or a fire truck I thought it was because something went wrong at home .
I know how it feels , If i even get the point of your topic ^^'

 

[TempeFan]

You're not paranoid. It's a good idea to be cautious. But, then again, the SUV could have pulled over for any number of reasons - most of them quite innocent. If the guys in the yard were mowing the grass, perhaps they chose to sit in the shade for a rest.

People who I have never met have chosen to do just that on my front porch, the first time a group of teens and the second were a group of tree trimmers from the local utility company.

 

[Mattymatt]

Criminal record check, drug screen, etc, etc. Several jobs I've applied for have put me through the ringer. One place does contract work for big name clients like Microsoft, Google, etc. They just secured a contract here in town and made me an offer. I accepted since it pays very well, but that's pending clearing all the checks. I cleared, so I just have to wait for the contract to start.



Oh, rest assured that my place is like a fortress with deadbolts, alarms on the doors, extra lighting, and special reinforced bars on the doors for when I go to bed. And if that isn't enough, I have enough big-bore fire power to bring down a herd of angry bison.

Seriously, I suspect they were some detectives watching or investigating where the shooting took place. It was a fluke, because this is a relatively quiet neighborhood . . . except for the noisy kids.

I am all about responsible gun ownership. Sounds like you're responsible.

 

[Joel's Hear]

Ask yourself, would somebody be sitting in an unmarked black SUV just for recreational purposes? No. That's so-called "law enforcement", and a nasty type of pig at that. If there was a shooting in your area, that's probably what it's about, assuming you aren't moving weight

That is absolutely hilarious about the binoculars. I mean, the fact that they booked it right away when you watched them right back is bad news because it confirms they were watching you specifically, but now you know something for sure.

In a past life I dealt with "covert" surveillance quite a bit. In your position, I'd just act natural. Assuming you aren't and haven't committed any major crimes, you have nothing to worry about, it's just that those golden-haired angels who protect us don't really care about your right to privacy.

The more problems we see
B-I-G P-O-P-P-A, no info for the DEA
Federal agents mad 'cause I'm flagrant
Tap my cell and the phone in the basement
My team supreme, stay clean
Triple beam lyrical dream, I be that

 

[Joel's Hear]

Gritches is a hip hop aficionado. Those lines always remind me of prowling government agents.

 

[Mary Terry]

You can always call the police and ask them to investigate a suspicious vehicle, especially after a local shooting. I live in the country, own hundreds of acres of land, and vehicles occasionally park on the side of the road along our property lines for no apparent reason. We've had some trouble with deer hunting poachers so I call the sheriff's office when I see vehicles parked for a long period of time. The deputies always come quickly to investigate. It's usually just someone using the cell phone or texting, or mechanical issues, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Ginseng]

Oh, rest assured that my place is like a fortress with deadbolts, alarms on the doors, extra lighting, and special reinforced bars on the doors for when I go to bed. And if that isn't enough, I have enough big-bore fire power to bring down a herd of angry bison.

Love it! I laughed out loud! Thanks. I needed that. I would love that type of security.

 

[Mary Terry]

They were police, though I don't know what type. I just found it odd that they were facing my place at first and then moved after we looked at one another through binoculars.

LOL! That reminds me of a scene from an old Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell romantic comedy movie called 'Overboard' where Goldie uses binoculars to look at her lover and his kids, and all of them have binoculars looking back at her. I love that movie.

 

[OlLiE]

Occam's razor is the problem-solving principle that the simplest solution tends to be the correct one. When presented with competing hypotheses to solve a problem, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions.

A black suv:
Are suvs very common, yes
Is black a popular car color, yes
=> so in and of itself the car is not suspicious without further context

Surveillance:
Have you likely done anything that would reasonably require you to be surveilled, no
Would events in your neighbourhood merit surveillance, possibly
=> so it is unlikely that you are being singled out for surveillance, which does not exclude the authorities keeping an eye on the neighbourhood given events

Car drives away:
Would you drive away if someone was looking at you through binoculars, possibly
If they are covert surveillance of the neighbourhood, would they want to be identified, no
would they try to be aware of being 'made', yes
=> so it is not exceptionally odd that they drove away

Overall:
i would assume that there is a 95% chance you are not being individually surveilled

 

[Mary Terry]

I was trying to remember what movie it was I saw something like that in. That must have been it.

There's an old MASH TV show where Hawkeye or Radar or someone puts black shoe polish on the eye sockets of Colonel Potter's binoculars so when the Colonel takes the binoculars away from his eyes, he has black raccoon eyes and doesn't realize it. Too funny!

 

[Mary Terry]

That's it! Thank you for finding it, it is good to really laugh out loud today.