# Reminder of op sec



## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Got busted today, sort of. I admit I thought about questions before but took the risk anyway. Earlier in a post I said I finally got around to building up a gas supply, at that point I had 8 5 gallon jugs and was going to get 4 more. I got them 4 at a time from Amazon, the first 4 were in shrink wrap and so were the last 4. When the UPS driver dropped off the last 4 he asked " what do you need all those cans for? I dropped off 4 a couple of weeks ago." Funny he didn't know he actually dropped off 8 earlier but 4 were in a box. I just told him I was tired of going to the store all the time for 5 gallons at a time and waved my arm at the yard/field. He left it alone at that but it wasn't the best explanation. The better explanation would have been the truth, we have a business my wife has to get too and the last fuel shortage bothers me, one 5 gallon can a day would get her there and back. 

The bigger question would be if he thought much about those heavy unmarked boxes that show up occasionally? The previous UPS driver knew what was in one of those "mystery " boxes.

There are obviously really good ways to build up supplies with less of a trail but sometimes it seems more difficult than it's worth.


----------



## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I know one shouldn't advertise their supplies, but people who are prepared to look after them selves can see similar traits in others, and these are kind of subtle.


----------



## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

My wife orders enough knick nack crap on amazon anything we get for prepping gets lost in the shuffle. Everything we order from amazon comes in boxes and you cant tell whats in them. My last cans were the metal 5 gallon ones and they come 4 to a box.


----------



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

*UPS drivers know what they are delivering*

The UPS drivers here tell me about those heavy boxes of bullets they have delivered at other addresses in the area and I'm sure they have told the other addressee's about my deliveries as well. They love to talk about it with whoever will listen. And don't be fooled, they know the companies that sell firearms and gear just from the company names and addresses which they also do business with themselves.
They have numerous times made comments about my property, the solar panels, the wind turbine, no power lines coming into the property and being off the grid, and I'm sure they have shared that with others in the area as well.
They are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to what is happening around here, which is not so good sometimes.


----------



## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> My wife orders enough knick nack crap on amazon anything we get for prepping gets lost in the shuffle. Everything we order from amazon comes in boxes and you cant tell whats in them. My last cans were the metal 5 gallon ones and they come 4 to a box.


My wife is also an Amazonaholic. So much so we put a large deck box out front for the packages to go into, surveilled by a video camera of course. And you're right, when so many boxes arrive so often they all probably just become a blur of cardboard.

But everything I order in the realm of gun parts, ammo, survival gear, tactical gear, etc. I have delivered to the department. It arrives earlier, shipping is less expensive and so far I have had very few packages not arrive. I have noticed in the last few years that such business are no longer advertising who they are on the packaging. Gunmagwarehouse for example now just puts GMW Inc. and their address on the label. Some don't even give that much info away listing just their address or their parent company's name. That helps with opsec.


----------



## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

I used to have a UPS guy who was pretty cool.
He was a reloader himself.

Every time he delivered a box from Midway, he could pretty much guess what was in it, or wanted to see when I opened.
I really had no fears of the guy.


----------



## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Our UPS guy preps so he's not surprised when he delivers bullets, Honeyville Grain boxes, and all kinds of stuff to us. Several years ago we went through a period of ordering a lot of ammo (back when the prices were reasonable). Right after he delivered our first box, he kicked his ammo purchases into a higher gear. He said he was thinking about doing it; but, when we started he knew he's better get on the bandwagon. We're fortunate we've had him as our UPS driver for years.


----------



## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

I've known our ups driver for years. When he first delivered to us it was a box of grapefruit in a regular bix so it was unmarked and heavy. He picked it up and said wow this is heavy what's in it lead. I took the box and smiled and just said nope its a box of dildos and walked off. Month or so later he dropped another package off and said was that really a box of dildos? I just started laughing. He told me every time he picked up a heavy box he thought of me and wondered if i was serious. Now he just makes up absence guesses as to what's in the box. Kind of a sick game we play. I know im disturbed and so is he but its a lot of fun. So i was also wondering how long you store your gas for before you use it and add fresh? Do you treat it? If so with what? I ask because modern gas has a shelf life of 30 days. Will still be usable but technically bad gas. I highly recommend pri-g for gas treatment or if you can't find that startron. Pri-g can bring old stale gas back to usable gas and keep new gas fresh for months. Startron is best at fighting ethanol.


----------



## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

I rotate my gas yearly and only store 100% gas, no ethonal. I treat it wil Sta-Bil and over the last 5 years have had zero problems with it. To use the storage I run it in both truck and car.


----------



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Caribou said:


> UPS doesn't know where I live. I get all my packages delivered to a private post office and i go pick it up.
> 
> I keep my eye open at garage sales and get all the gas cans I want. Picked two up not too long ago for a buck each. I particularly like the older ones with a vent. I have a number of rebuild kits I picked up in Canada.


They sell the old style nozzles and vents at Tractor Supply for about $9. It makes these over priced gas cans cost more but I can at least get the fuel out with just 2 hands.


----------



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

We aren't to worried about deliveries. We don't have any mail set to go to the new place because, well, we don't live there yet. We do however have a "good size" stash up there. We keep enough here for about a month or so, but all the long term stuff goes up there. All the people that said there are coming to my place will be here alone and hungry.


----------



## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Sentry18 said:


> My wife is also an Amazonaholic. So much so we put a large deck box out front for the packages to go into, surveilled by a video camera of course. And you're right, when so many boxes arrive so often they all probably just become a blur of cardboard.
> 
> But everything I order in the realm of gun parts, ammo, survival gear, tactical gear, etc. I have delivered to the department. It arrives earlier, shipping is less expensive and so far I have had very few packages not arrive. I have noticed in the last few years that such business are no longer advertising who they are on the packaging. Gunmagwarehouse for example now just puts GMW Inc. and their address on the label. Some don't even give that much info away listing just their address or their parent company's name. That helps with opsec.


In regards to in marked packages, I was actually making a comment to a prepped friend about wondering if the UPS driver wondered about the unmarked packages, neither bulkammo.com or JM Bullion mark their packages.


----------



## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

sgtusmc98 said:


> In regards to in marked packages, I was actually making a comment to a prepped friend about wondering if the UPS driver wondered about the unmarked packages, neither bulkammo.com or JM Bullion mark their packages.


My guess is the average UPS/Fedex driver stops caring after their first week on the job. A package is a package is a package. It's the thieves wearing brown shorts that would concern themselves with such things, but my guess is most of them work in distribution centers and don't drive trucks up to your house. I have never lost a package that made it to my community or even close, they have all disappeared at major hubs.


----------



## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Sentry18 said:


> My guess is the average UPS/Fedex driver stops caring after their first week on the job. A package is a package is a package. It's the thieves wearing brown shorts that would concern themselves with such things, but my guess is most of them work in distribution centers and don't drive trucks up to your house. I have never lost a package that made it to my community or even close, they have all disappeared at major hubs.


From my understanding, UPS drivers have to work up to being a driver, I'm sure it's not easy and it's a good well paying job, they would be stupid to mess it up at that point for stealing a couple hundred bucks.

My most realistic fear is that they drive off with one of my dogs, I came out to meet the driver the other day and 3 of my 4 dogs got in his truck. He said one of the other drivers drove 10 minutes away from a home before realizing he had a dog in the back and had to turn around to bring it home. Dang biscuits!


----------



## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

bacpacker said:


> I rotate my gas yearly and only store 100% gas, no ethonal. I treat it wil Sta-Bil and over the last 5 years have had zero problems with it. To use the storage I run it in both truck and car.


Oh you guys get ethanol free gas, thats sweet! Only a few gas stations here have it and they just recently got it. I remember when i was a kid before the ethanol crap took over starting engines that had sat for years and the gas was still good. Ya you got no worries with ethanol free gas. I buy the regular gas with what they say is 10 percent ethanol but is really more like 18 percent. But i built a tank that has a round bottom (old air tank stood on end) and it has a pipe coming out the bottom with a ball valve. I poor in 5 gallons of gas at a time followed by one gallon of water. I give it a quick stir and let it sit for the night. Because ethanol bonds perfectly with water and water doesn't mix with gas the next morning when i go out all the water and ethanol are at the bottom if the tank. I just draw off the water/ethanol and use it for window cleaner and windshield washer fluid. Then i poor off the little left in the pipe till i get gas and that little bit if water/ethanol/gas is disposed of. What is left it pure ethanol free gas. Works great.


----------



## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

All stations don't carry it, but enough do and I frequent one or two when I do the rotation.


----------



## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

I know of 1 place that sells ethanol free gas locally.
They charge $3.99 a gallon compared to $2.69 for unleaded.
Don't add something and charge more for it.


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

bunkerbob said:


> The UPS drivers here tell me about those heavy boxes of bullets they have delivered at other addresses in the area and I'm sure they have told the other addressee's about my deliveries as well. ...They are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to what is happening around here, which is not so good sometimes.


I ordered some bullets on line. If I had read the fine print (I didn't) I would have known a signature was required on delivery. So I drove the 15 miles to the Post Office to pick them up..

So the next time I ordered from this company I had it shipped to my work address to my attention.

Our UPS Driver is fantastic. Work has three buildings in a cluster. Instead of just dumping our boxes in one of the buildings he takes the time to delivery to each building AND if our name is on it he'll bring it to you. From the ship from address and the weight he knew what was in the box. He sets the box that weights five thousand pounds (OK I exaggerated) on my work station and then proceeds to name everyone he has delivered to that day from the same company. I told the Driver that perhaps everyone wouldn't want everyone to know what they were ordering. He did a double take and hasn't volunteered information since (at least not to me).

Read a good fiction story about folks that ordered gold and silver online and had their orders delivered to the house. The local Delivery Driver had compiled his own personal list of these customers. SHTF he and a few buddies used the listed for their home invasion targets.


----------

