Product Description

A New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller!

Are you tired of the way you're living? Are you fed up with everyone trying to take your most valuable possessions--your money and assets--away? Are you sick of having creditors, the IRS, or a vindictive ex-spouse nipping at your heels? If only you could disappear without a trace...if only you could resurface in some exotic foreign place with a whole new identity and a brand-spanking new life.

And on the other side, how would you like to track down that ex (and his assets) who owes you money? Want to know his tricks?

For most people, this is just a fantasy. But it doesn't have to be. In Hide Your Assets and Disappear, one of the nation's top-ten-rated private investigators, Edmund J. Pankau, reveals all the tricks of his trade to show you how to hide it all or find someone who has. An experienced tracker who has worked for the government to recover missing assets, Pankau explains step-by-step how to successfully get away or find someone who has.

Filled with vividreal-life stories of both successes and failures as well as an Internet research guide, this invaluable guide outlines exactly what you should know before you go, including the ever-increasing difficulties you will face as the world becomes more tightly linked through electronic networks. Pankau shows you how to pay attention to prevent slip-ups that can give you away, from birthday phone calls to magazine subscriptions to an off-the-cuff comment to a stranger. He prepares you logistically and psychologically to successfully make the transition to your new life and new self in a new world, and gives you the best information on how to go, where to go, how to live, how to behave, and even who to become once you get there.

Should I keep my assets here or move them abroad? How do I create a new identity? How do I stay lost? Can I ever go back? How can I avoid anyone who might be looking for me? And how can I find someone who's disappeared on me? How do people fake their own deaths? What can the government do to catch a concealer? Pankau has the answer for all these questions and many more, and provides the tiny, often overlooked details that can make the difference between lounging on a tropical beach or ending up on the wrong side of the law.

Whether you're in search of a new life or someone who has hidden their assets and disappeared and left you in the lurch, listen to Edmund J. Pankau. With his unique, entertaining, eye-opening guide, he shows you how to go from victim to victor.

Thinking of disappearing without a trace? Want to find someone who has? Consider these questions...

Which is the better place to go, New Zealand or Panama?

How much cash you can legally take out of the country?

What are the hot spots the Customs Department targets as suspicious entrance points?

What is FinCEN and how can it ruin your plans?

Where is it better to keep money, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, or Switzerland?

Should you seek out the expatriates in your new country or lay low?

What should you do if someone recognizes you in your new home?

What happens if you get sick abroad?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34878 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-25
• Released on: 2000-04-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 205 pages

Amazon.com Review
In Hide Your Assets and Disappear, a master gumshoe gives some straight information about how to cover your trail and protect your money from the government and creditors. Edmund J. Pankau, a writer and acclaimed private investigator, believes that individual rights, privacy, and benefits are slowly eroding in the United States, but that there are ways--legal and illegal--to beat the authorities. "The choice is yours to make," writes Pankau, "Don't be the one that someday says, 'I wish I could have done that.'"

Pankau despises domestic tax laws. He urges people to hire a good attorney to help plan a move offshore to a sunny clime with low taxes, bank-privacy rules, and simpler, cheaper living. He recommends New Zealand, Belize, Costa Rica, and Honduras, where the island of Roatan is his own personal hideaway. And for those who truly need to disappear, Pankau explains how amazingly easy it is to obtain a second or third passport, become a new person or stage a phony death.

Pankau is also a powerful advocate for asset-protection planning. The book features some nifty moves to block creditors with bankruptcy laws. There are also methods to maximize state and federal tax exemptions and maneuvers to shield a personal residence, real estate, stocks, or pension accounts from taxes and potential creditors or lawsuits.

The book is for hard-core freedom seekers. It's also recommended for people interested in more conventional techniques for protecting money, property, and other valuables. --Dan Ring

Review
"A real nuts-and-bolts guide that puts all aspects of offshore planning in the hands of U.S. citizens planning worldwide transactions. A must have book for everyone's library." -- Walter C. Wilson, International Tax and Financial Planning Attorney

About the Author
Edmund J. Pankau, rated one of the nation's top ten private investigators, is a world-renowned professional speaker and author of numerous articles and several award-winning books on privacy and investigation, including Check it Out: Everyone's Guide to Investigation, How to Make $100,000 a Year as a Private Investigator, and The PI Portfolio. He is the associate editor of PI magazine and a contributing writer to International Living and many financial and investigative trade journals and magazines. His experiences and cases have been featured in such publications as Time, BusinessWeek, People, USA Today, and The New York Times, and he has appeared on many radio and television shows including 20/20, Larry King Live, BBC London, and America's Most Wanted as an authority on privacy issues.

Customer Reviews

Useless fantasy book
This book does show you how the government finds ways to keep your money, but it does VERY little to show you how to stop them. It tells you to open up an account offshore and move your assets off to that account. Unfortunately it does not tel you how. It doesn't tell you how hard it is opening an offshore account. Or how most banks require ID and references. And how do you move the money offshore without the government finding out, well thats for you to figure out. The guy who wrote this book is a absolute joke. He knows very little about the subject except for how the government attempts to catch you, but gives no real answers as to how to get around it. Most of the information in this book can be found out with very little research, which is what I think this guy did. He claims to be the best detective in the US, but I seriously doubt a Paladin Press writer is anything more than a sorry writer, who lacks the know how to actually attempt anything they write about. This guy claims Belize is the greatest country to live in for little money and without government interference. Has he ever been to Belize. I honestly don't think he has. Belize is horribly crime ridden in the cities. And the nice areas are all tourist areas. Not a great place to live. Don't buy this book, just do a little internet research on offshore banking and you will have more information than is in this book. And you'll probably know alot more than the author on the subject.

Mostly a waste
I bought this book at the discount counter on a whim -- it sounded like a fun read. I read it cover to cover, and ended up doing something I've never done before: I threw it in the trash.

To be fair, there were some things about the book I enjoyed. It pointed out how much of our personal information is available across so many databases, and how we leave distinctive trails of ourselves in so many ways.

The book could have been a lot of fun for the average person to read, and it could have been concretely instructive for the serious escapist. But its treatment of the main subject was too light and non-specific to serve as a real "how-to" checklist. As for the "fun" factor, the author comes across as a macho boor, with a cliche' attitude towards the government, women, and others that he considers "stupid jerks." Any modern woman would label him as an M.C.P. I felt like I was reading the work of a 1950s throwback, a Mickey Spillane wannabe.

The worst thing to me was the lack of proofreading. I'd guess there was an average of one grammatical or typographical error per page, and I really don't think I'm exaggerating. The guy really needs to hire an editor before he publishes another word.

In summary, the book is poorly written, it isn't very interesting, and it has no redeeming literary or social value. Into the trash it goes.

Don,t judge a book by its cover
This book has a much broader range of appeal to the comman person than the title indicates. Everyone is affected by the privacy issues discussed in the book. The terms "hide" and "disappear" should'nt scare anyone off. Mr.Pankau lays out invaluable information in the context of someone "vanishing without a trace", but most of it relates directly to all of us. After reading his book I'm much more aware of the value of my privacy,and the steps to take to protect it in the future.The section on "the best places disappear to" is valuable to anyone thinking of retiring in a foreign country, regardless of "criminal" issues. Numerous countries and areas are rated for livability followed by recommendations and warnings.Mr Pankau's credentials are solid. He is highly respected internationally as an author(two bestsellers), speaker and most impressively, one of the top private investigators in the country. This is a man who has built a solid business and reputation. I trust the advice in this book because I have considered the source. Enough said.