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by crtasm 426 days ago
Or perhaps go for the opposite of subtle - in many places it's quite normal to see people in hi-vis vests taking readings etc.
2 comments

That's an excellent additional thing to consider and I'm a bit mad that I neglected it since I have accidentally been that guy.

My job requires me to wear hi-vis (as well as other PPE) and it is crazy how little security pays attention to me in some of the very-big-name plants I visit, often with a laptop bag full of flash drives and a bunch of other tools that allow me to get into the machines.

Early in this part of my career, I found myself in a very large plant for the first time, and my escort got pulled away on some other task (I now expect this to happen since it's such a common occurrence), leaving me to fix the machine I was working on. The place was the size of a small town, and I needed to use the restroom, but nobody was in the vicinity to ask, so I did my best to follow the floor markings and signs. Found it, but took a wrong turn coming back and found myself in a completely different area. Since I was new, I tried to find my way back without asking anyone I saw because I did not want to look stupid, but nobody stopped me, questioned me, etc.

Probably one of the best lessons in social engineering is looking like you're supposed to be there.

One should not practice these things in actual high security areas, but it can be fun to simply walk around a strange place with a look of purpose and velocity. Not making eye contact, perhaps on a phone. As long as you won't get in trouble it's easy to practice the body language of belonging and that skill can be really useful even if you are not trying to use it for malicious purposes (i.e. if you are actually supposed to be there, the best thing for everyone is you look the part and don't cause more worry than required).
I used to do contracted engineering and maintenance work in railyards, and in each facility would obtain (always with permission from my recollection) a well-worn supervisor vest and hard hat. They are usually color-coded.
The 'shade curve' as I call it, where one reaches a point where their actions could be considered so shady, it's automatically assumed it couldn't possibly be them.

Smoking pot in a dark parking lot with friends at night gives more cover, but smoking pot walking down your city's main street in the middle of the day gives you the cover of just smoking an innocuous "rollie," like any other person could be.

It's hard for anyone with a nose to mistake one for the other.

(The underlying point is completely valid, though. Audacity is a powerful thing.)