Aspergers and getting followed by the FBI?

Post Reply New Topic

Okay, yes, I know the title immediately makes one think of the significantly more popular mental disorder of schizophrenia but that's not what I'm referring to! I was wondering, does having aspergers make one more prone to getting followed by the FBI? Let me explain like this - See, one of the core characteristics is an impoverished theory of mind which basically means it's harder to anticipate how NTs are going to think/react to something you say/do. If you're technologically advanced, and your special interest happens to be technology that's shared by military aircraft and you ask about it, apparently there's that 5% that's paranoid enough to report you to the FBI (And on a very popular site with 100s of users, there's going to be someone). How do I know? It happened to me!

I picked up the phone and received a "Hello, this is special agent Darrin from the terrorism task force and I just wanted to ask a few questions. Is <my name> available?"

"He's speaking and yes, I'm the perpetrator. I'm the guy you're looking for..."

And then he was friendly enough to request me to specify all my personal information so that he can keep me updated in the Terrorist Watch list just in case, and he claims to have written a 3 sentence concluding statement in the ten-page report that apparently they had built up on me and "closed the case". So... just curious, does having aspergers predispose one to scaring other people when your special interests happens to be something similar to military technology and you ask about it online?

Last edited by swbluto on 23 Jul 2011, 12:21 am, edited 2 times in total.

So, now you can't board an airplane? Are you on the no-fly list?

I hope I can. Is there a list online I can check?

During the conversation, he plainly asked "Oh, so you weren't planning on flying this airplane into a building or anything? Haha".

Then I'd worry...
The lists are kept top secret, classified, I think...there is one way you can find out...just buy an airline ticket and try to get past airport security. If you make it, you aren't on the list

Wow. I've looked up some pretty weird stuff online out of pure curiosity and often thought that if anyone was tracking my activity, that in conjunction with my history of institutionalization might make me start getting followed by the government... but I didn't think it was a serious possibility! All I can say is wow. Now you have a story to tell.

Are you sure it wasn't a crank/fake call?

You should have said, “Why the hell would I do that? Do you have any idea how much weed I plan on smuggling in that plane?”

I'm pretty sure as they investigated my cousin first as the main lead and they physically appeared at his doorstep first (And, yes, it was... the men in black). That'd take one pretty dedicated prankster.

Lol, I was thinking there are druglords already smuggling weed via RC airplanes as apparently they're using submarines (And remote control subs aren't a far stretch...). You could also use catapults with a specially designed payload 'vehicle'.

I've never been contacted by the FBI however I once discovered that the manager at one of the local supermarkets was very wary about teenagers with backpacks.

The FBI has, however contacted a relative of mine about knowledge they might have had on a person who was being investigated and believe it or not, they do contact people by phone.

Still, I advise anyone contacted by phone by someone claiming to be an FBI agent to take down the person's information and verify they are who they say they are before proceeding to answer questions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRuHk6Drj2U[/youtube]

So you actually used "I'm the perpetrator"? Hmm... not a very wise choice of phrasing there.

Yeah, people do kind of assume you're up to no good if they can't figure out what you're doing.

Or someone who knows your name and phone number but needed other information on you like mother's maiden name, social security number, driver liscense number, insurance info, and work phone numbers. Someone could have been on a fishing expedition to get your vitals so they can steal your ID.

You're right, I should have said ... "I'm innocent, by golly! I didn't do anything!".

I think when you cut to the chase as quickly as possibly and plainly say "I'm the perpetrator", it suggests you aren't doing anything wrong because a real criminal wouldn't be so willing to get caught.



Hmmmm... that's insightful. Perhaps I should've explained in the thread that I was planning on dropping water balloons on my next door neighbors, lol. Except, I'd have to explain it was the neighbors who lived 30 miles away... errmm....

Last edited by swbluto on 23 Jul 2011, 1:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

So yeah..... uh... I would NEVER, EVER give any information to anyone over the phone who claimed they were from the FBI. Be paranoid RE Identity theft for the next little while.

The worst it got was my middle name and my date of birth. No socials nor credit card numbers.