
Turns Out Wearing a Hi-Vis Vest Gets You into Everything for Free - LeoPanthera
https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/mgv4gn/chalecos-reflectantes-entrar-gratis
======
CrazyCatDog
Amateurs. I made a "press pass" consisting of a sticker printed from a laser
printer reading "PRESS", highlighted yellow, and applied to the back of my
highschool ID. I literally drive on the tarmac of Stapleton International
Airport in Denver, in a failed attempt to meet then presidential candidate Bob
Dole as he stepped off of his plane. One hour and one flash of the pass later
and I landed a killer photo of he and I shaking hands outside his press
junket. 16 is an emboldening age!

~~~
stcredzero
A classmate of mine who was a teenager in Las Vegas in the 80's used to tell
me that he would get together with his friends, dress up in suits, dumpster
dive for conference badges that had defects or typos, and just walk into
conferences like CES.

He also claimed his mates would go out into the desert to find orgies and
break them up with bottle rockets. People were too scared about being busted
and were too busy running away for them to realize it was just some teenagers
with bottle rockets.

~~~
turtlecloud
Wtf? People do that in the desert?

~~~
gonzo
Grew up in Vegas. We set off bombs in the desert.

It’s a wacky place. (I’m In Vegas as i type.)

~~~
Kiro
Pretty sure turtlecloud was asking about the orgies.

~~~
_Schizotypy
Maybe orgies are just that normal there

~~~
justtopost
They are everywhere, but when there is so much free desert, and all the good
confrence halls are booked...

------
hivisthrowaway
Throwaway for obvious reasons.

I work for a company that contracts to my state's law enforcement. Not even
that, we contract to a company contracted to a consultant, to my state's law
enforcement. I have a plain plastic card (no security measures, no chip or
magstrip) with my photo and a number on it; and with that card I can get an
all access pass with complementary escort at any station I care to access. It
frightens me every time I work there, they rarely know work is scheduled, they
do either no check, or an extremely cursory one (sometimes they even take down
the number on the card); and it gives me and my coworkers total access to the
facilities and all computer systems.

What a world we live in.

------
nwatson
Coincidentally on Hacker News front page right now ...
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18318647](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18318647)
... a story about being black while legitimately shopping with no intention of
stealing. I'm not sure the author of that article could use the hi-viz trick
and get away with it ... or have the luxury of even contemplating it as a lark
all in "harmless fun".

edit: grammar and emphasis

~~~
rv-de
One could argue that to somebody with racist inclination a black person
wearing a hi-viz might look even more credible.

~~~
naasking
Exactly. No one intentionally drawing attention to themselves could possibly
be up to something nefarious, they'd draw too much attention to themselves to
get away with anything.

~~~
SmellyGeekBoy
I think GP was playing on the assumption that those employed in these
traditionally low-paid jobs such as security and maintenance would
predominantly be black.

------
roywiggins
I carefully and quietly walked into an academic building with a pair of bolt
cutters and walked out with a pair of bolt cutters and an iMac hefted under
one arm (having relieved it of its lock-cable) and nobody seemed to even
notice.

That said it was my actual job to do this- but I could have been anyone with a
pair of bolt cutters!

~~~
zaarn
The trick is to behave like you're not doing anything wrong.

If you have a pair of bolt cutters and you look like you're aimlessly
wandering, people will notice.

If instead, you walk in and go straight into any random office, you're fine.

If you know where the building manager's office is, go straight for that and
make it look like you talked to them, people won't question anything you do
afterwards. (Source: watched someone do this during a pentest)

~~~
cyxxon
During my university years I orked as IT support. We always joked we could
just steal computers off campus, nobody of the security team (or students)
even looked at us twice when we took computers from offices and walked out
with them...

------
iamben
I can't remember whether it was a Banksy book or article, but I vaguely recall
him saying they/he got away with a bunch of pieces (in particular the
designated graffiti walls) by just pulling up in a white van in the middle of
the day, wearing high-vis, setting up a tent around their work and getting on
with it. No one would question because it was so brazen so there must be
authority somewhere. I assume it's probably also how he placed the
museum/gallery pieces.

Annecdotally reminds me of underage drinking. If you stood with a pint glass
at your side looking shifty you got kicked out in 5 minutes. If you were
brazenly smoking a cigarette, knocking the beer back and shouting like you
owned the place the bouncers just assumed no one underage would draw that much
attention to themselves and leave you alone...

------
davidgh
When I was in high school I worked at Kmart as a temp job during the holidays.
They trained us on the first day to help fight shoplifting.

They told us that for the longest time they were losing large electronics and
couldn’t figure out how people were hiding them. In time, they realized how it
was happening. The thief would find the item he wanted and would calmly walk
out the front door with the item in plain sight, even adding a quick “hi” and
half smile to the greeter on the way out.

~~~
wyclif
At my local Kmart years ago, a canoe got stolen and security couldn't believe
someone had done it. Turns out two guys walked in, went straight to the
sporting goods department, picked up the canoe with one guy holding each end
above their shoulders, and walked out the front door. The greeter held the
door open for them!

~~~
crankylinuxuser
As another anecdote:

I worked at Walmart years ago. During one Black Friday, 2 someones walked into
laywawy dept (in the back of the store), and proceeded to unhook the register!
Security footage shows it but they were wearing hats, so no faces.

So, they unhook it, and load it into a cart. Then they, during the Black
Friday bedlam, just push it right out of the store. Off they went.

------
technofiend
I have a friend who was inspired by the Abignale story to create his own
Southwestern Bell employee ID. He used the artwork off his phone bill and a
laminator. The result passed scrutiny of a cop who wanted to know why he was
performing some late night "maintenance" on a phone box.

Between his fake ID, a Bell hard hat and a tool belt with all the proper
pieces including a butt set he could go just about anywhere.

~~~
rootsudo
One day I was skipping school and talked to a a linesman about beigeboxing and
he was surprised I even know what It was as this was circa 2001 before 9/11\.
I just red an article about mitnick in 2600 or something similar, probably off
gamefaqs.

He gave me a complete tour of how to open the panelbox, how to wire RJ11, and
numbers to call and troubleshoot and an spare broken unit he had.

It wasn't really broken, one of the aligator clips just needed to be soldered
--

Fun times then, this was also back when I was getting free hours via
NetZero/AOL And they did some simple ANI blocking per day or something.

------
jen729w
I used to knock about on a Friday night (also in Melbourne, funnily enough)
with my Canon 1D with a 24-70mm lens and the EOS flash (430?).

I’d walk right to the front of the line of any club, with my mate, mumble
something about shooting for the local music mag, and they’d wave us straight
in. Never got one question.

Then there was the time that I skipped a line by pretending to be deaf, but
that’s another story. (I had a deaf mate who strongly encouraged me to try
this. “Works every time”, he said.)

(I’m no SJW, but it’s probably worth mentioning that I’m a friendly looking
white dude. As are the chaps in this story. I suspect things work out
differently if you’re not.)

~~~
zamazingo
What do you mean by "I’m no SJW"?

~~~
ethbro
He means he doesn't identify as a (s)ocial (j)ustice (w)arrior: that is,
regularly and loudly taking umbrage and outrage at perceived social
inequities.

But he still wants to point out a racial property that may have influenced his
experience.

------
btrettel
As a cyclist, I've worn a hi-vis vest while walking around after riding, and
it's been weird how many people assume that I am a repair guy or even a police
officer. The thesis of the article matches my experience. If you wear the vest
confidently you could probably get into many things free.

~~~
gaius
_I am a repair guy or even a police officer_

I've seen a few cyclists wearing gear that was obviously intended to be
mistaken for police uniform at a distance e.g. blue and white checks, and only
when you get closer do you realise it says "polite". Presumably this is in the
hope of getting away with riding on the pavement or jumping red lights. Joke's
on them - the real police never enforce those rules anyway.

~~~
gokhan
[https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cyclists-join-high-
vi...](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cyclists-join-high-vis-polite-
force-to-be-seen-by-motorists-8568155.html)

~~~
btrettel
Looks like you can buy a variety of different styles here:

[https://equisafety.com/collections/polite](https://equisafety.com/collections/polite)

------
ChuckMcM
People see the uniform not the face. It is a truism, and it can be weirdly
triggered. For example, late August afternoon I went into Staples to buy some
office supplies, and I had just happened to be wearing khaki pants and a red
polo shirt which unfortunately was exactly the same color as the red 'staples'
staff shirts. All through the visit anxious mothers came up to me looking for
school supplies for their kids or asking if I could check in back for this or
that thing. I would tell them I wasn't working there but one refused to
believe me, she said I was lying because I just didn't want to do the work to
check for her. I pointed out the lack of logo on my shirt but it didn't help.

In a related note I normally carry a high visibility vest and a blue hardhat
in my earthquake supplies 'go bag' in my car. The hardhat was left over from
the Hoover Dam tour (which gave out real hard hats as souvenirs!) and the vest
I wear when I'm biking. I reasoned that after an earth quake if I am walking
home I don't want aftershocks dropping bricks on my head. Several people have
warned me though that if you step out into a post disaster scenario with a
hard hat and a vest people will assume you have an official capacity and are
there to help. You won't get a chance to walk home.

~~~
Tangokat
There is a pretty popular subreddit dedicated to exactly this:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IDontWorkHereLady/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IDontWorkHereLady/)

It works both ways. If you wear something that resembles a uniform people will
assume you work there (and might not believe you don't). You can use that for
getting into places you shouldn't be.. or get harassed by entitled customers

~~~
bradknowles
Just wear an orange lanyard attached to your phone in your breast pocket.

Works in every Home Depot I’ve ever been in, and many other stores.

People don’t even bother to actually look at the lanyard enough to notice it
says “Star Wars” and “REBEL” on it, with the Star Wars Rebel insignia.

------
commandlinefan
There was a gag in Machete where Danny Trejo could sneak in anywhere just by
being Mexican and carrying a weed-eater. It seemed plausible.

~~~
api
It would definitely work in Southern California.

~~~
Redoubts
Wanda Sykes definitely made this an extended bit

------
phkahler
Waaay back in school, a friend told me the key to walking around the halls
during class time was to look and act like you are supposed to be there. He
was right. It works well. This vest thing is just a trick for doing the same
in a different context.

~~~
andrew_
We combined that attitude with some fake IDs we photoshopped, printed, and
laminated at home to buy booze under age. Don't draw attention to yourself and
no one will pay attention.

------
stcredzero
I attended a military academy boarding school where being outside after "Taps"
could technically get you dismissed. This did happen to some people. My senior
year, I started going to after hours D&D games. Some people tried to dress up
all in black and do the commando thing, but a lot of them got caught. I just
got into my dress uniform and walked around looking official. Everyone just
assumed I was "Officer of the Day."

~~~
UncleEntity
In the regular army carrying around a manilla folder (or for extra benefits a
personal folder) gets you no questions from anyone as they just assume you're
doing some task for someone.

Or walking around like you know what you're doing you can walk off with pretty
much anything that isn't being actively guarded since they just think someone
sent you over to get it for them. My platoon sgt used to tell me "go find me
<whatever>" and I'd almost always come back with it after I got tired of
slacking off since I technically _was_ working -- on asset redistribution.

~~~
sitzkrieg
or a clipboard in the navy, or ..

if you look like you're preoccupied with finding someone that usually works
too

~~~
ethbro
I've found the preemptive question a powerful tool as well.

If anyone seems to be on the verge of questioning you, walk up to them, look
them straight in the eye, and impatiently ask them a question. (E.g. for
directions)

Seems to short circuit the brain.

PS: I'm pretty sure it's also worked on would-be muggers a couple times too,
spinning around and asking the person following you for a block if they have
the time.

~~~
peterburkimsher
In the same way, hold a door open for someone. They will thank you, walk
through, and promptly forget that they don't know who you are or what you're
doing there.

------
interfixus
The pitch-black side of this phenomenon: In 2011 in Norway, Anders Breivik
commandeered a ferry to the Utøya island, was let onboard, heavily armed and
with several heavy boxes of ammunition, going on, as we know, to kill 69
people there, mainly youngsters. All this solely on the basis of a sufficient
display of authority and an obviously fake police uniform, and despite the
ferry having been put on hold after the bombing of government headquarters in
Oslo a little earlier in the day.

~~~
paultopia
The much happier version: Robert Smalls, a slave in the civil war, manages to
steal a confederate ship from his master and sail it to union lines by putting
on a hat. [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-
cro...](http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-
cross/history/which-slave-sailed-himself-to-freedom/)

~~~
taneq
To be fair, he DID work there.

------
closeparen
I used to be a field technician. It's really amazing how casually the front
desks of important institutions would hand over telecom closet/server room
keys when I asked. We wore company t-shirts, but that was it.

~~~
Aloha
a found a tool bag, some parts to waive around, and a long boring explanation
(real or otherwise) of why you need to be there also helps - barring that, in
some buildings a screwdriver is the only key.

~~~
walrus01
"We're here to adjust the phase variance on the cardinal grammeter of the
retro encabulator"

~~~
andyidsinga
did you bring you sinusoidal dingle arm? :)

~~~
walrus01
No, but the fluvial wave bearings have been recalibrated to match the
impedance of the gravimetric flam.

~~~
andyidsinga
it never gets old ! :) :) :)

------
aravindet
From the article:

> Note: this article was edited on the 21/12/16 because Sean's mate was going
> to get fired and we really like that guy.

I remember reading that a previous Vice story about Naomi Watts published off-
the-record details that put her at risk from the Chinese government.

Fucking over sources for no particular reason looks like a trend with Vice
reporters.

~~~
gpm
Do you mean Naomi Wu?

------
jonah
These posts always remind me of Todd Lappin's Telstar Logistics[1] in which he
makes his personal vehicle look "official" and gets away with lots adventures
with it.

[1]
[https://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2006/0...](https://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2006/09/what_is_telstar.html)

[2]
[https://www.flickr.com/people/telstar/](https://www.flickr.com/people/telstar/)

~~~
notatoad
as much as i love the Telstar Logistics truck, I've found an unmarked white
truck with an orange beacon light on top to be even more useful. When i used
to work for city parks i rotated between a white rental truck with no
stickers, and a truck that was clearly labeled with the city's logo. The
unmarked truck would get you onto any jobsite, any company's yard, or through
any traffic jam. The labeled truck, people knew what sort of permissions you
were supposed to have.

~~~
jonah
(Typically the flashing lights allowed on non-emergency vehicles are called
Amber.)

The vaguer the better, I'd say. Amber light, an antenna, black numbers on the
tailgate, some reflective tape on the bumper, orange cones in the bed, a
clipboard on the seat, and a hi-vis vest hanging in the back window should do
the trick.

------
arthurfm
This article reminded me of BBC Three's The Real Hustle programme [1].

The presenters often used to wear hi-vis jackets to pull off various scams. It
was surprisingly effective. [2][3][4]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Hustle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Hustle)

[2] [https://youtu.be/1vOV4-6Sozw](https://youtu.be/1vOV4-6Sozw)

[3] [https://youtu.be/CxappKA4YBY](https://youtu.be/CxappKA4YBY)

[4] [https://youtu.be/CRBJrSBtnKM](https://youtu.be/CRBJrSBtnKM)

~~~
Kaveren
I think everything on that show was faked with paid actors, I remember a story
coming out about it.

~~~
arthurfm
The Wikipedia article linked above contains a section regarding that.

 __ _Although some "marks" had previously worked as actors or extras, they had
not been hired for this purpose, and the production company had recruited
participants through websites "popular with people keen to appear on
television"_ __

Personally, this didn 't bother me since I was more interested in finding out
how the cons worked.

------
tomhoward
My friend's father was a professional photographer. His experience was that
carrying _two_ professional cameras would get you access anywhere you wanted,
no questions asked.

------
Mister_X
I don't need to read the article, it's well established that the average
person acquiesces to perceived authority most of the time when they encounter
it.

I figured it out in 1977 working for a private telcom company in Santa Clara.

We had no company uniforms or shirts, just our tool belts and butt-sets (clip-
on test phone) bouncing as we walked along.

I was at one of our accounts adding some extensions, when my new (idiot) boss
arrived to tell me some crap he thought was important, but wasn't.

After he finished his power trip I was a bit miffed and got cocky, saying to
him, "See that computer room over there", as I pointed to the climate
controlled sealed room with large glass windows and raised interior floor.

That room was full of large rack mounts computers, with large tape drives
slowly starting and stopping and at least six white lab coat wearing people
with clipboards walking from peripheral to peripheral looking very important,
quite a futuristic looking scene at the time.

It was also guarded by a uniformed guy with a gun at the door and I told my
(idiot) boss "Bet I can just walk right in that room", and he took the bait,
so before he could say anything, I quickly started walking across the large
room full of desks and such.

Just before reaching the guard, I made eye contact with him and he opened the
door for me without a word! I thanked him, walked in, walked around the racks
and people, looked behind a couple of pieces of gear and walked out.

There were no phones or phone equipment in that room, I knew that, and so did
my boss, who was furious when I got back to him.

So I got another empty lecture and threatened with termination, but also knew
my (idiot) boss really was an idiot, oh, and using my tool belt and a butt-set
would open just about any doors for me.

So, I agree, if someone looks like they have a reason for being somewhere,
they will only be questioned by authoritarians, then it's nearly always bad
news with those kind, even if one has a legit reason to be somewhere.

So look for that Big Ring of Keys folks, it's the sure sign of one.

~~~
taneq
"You can go anywhere if you walk fast and carry a clipboard" \- Douglas Adams

~~~
Frqy3
Reminds me of being a junior engineer doing radio signal measurements before
and after a network optimisation.

With slightly worn hi-vis shirts, clipboards and our portable RF spetrum
analyser, we got into all sorts of places from airport lounges (pre 9-11), F1
racetrack a few days before the big race to hotel suites and several corporate
office buildings. We were always polite and asked permission before entering
private property, but not once did anybody check our IDs nor call to confirm
our story.

------
hyperbovine
> It would not be an overstatement to say walking towards the ticket booth
> felt like getting off a boat on Normandy.

Why do people write things like this. Aside from being crass, that is
literally the definition of an overstatement.

~~~
ycomb2748
Where North Americans generally see crass overstatements as just that, the
remainder of the Anglosphere (the author of the article being an Australian)
see them as colourful humour.

~~~
vinay427
Eh, I'm a North American and I found iy humorous, but I could see the
confusion as it _is_ literally an overstatement though that's what makes it
poignant to me.

------
dba7dba
In my friend of friend's neighborhood, thieves used hardhat/hi-vis vest to
commit thefts.

Basically, a man with a hard hat, hi-vis vest, and a clipboard knocked on the
door of a house. He claimed he needed to check some gas line in the back yard.
While the resident was in back yard distracted by him, another person snuck in
and stole jewelry. They hit few houses but were eventually caught by local
police.

------
a3n
Worked at Boeing years ago, writing test code. You could sometimes get on an
aircraft in (far enough) progress with a clipboard.

~~~
mindcrime
Hah, you beat me to it w/r/t mentioning the clipboard. Combine the clipboard,
hi-vis vest, and walkie-talkie, and you're golden. In some contexts maybe
throw in a toolbox or something that looks some sort of scientific
instrument...

------
chapium
Carrying an open laptop and staring at the ceiling can get you quite far as
well.

~~~
larkeith
For optimal results, walk with purpose while arguing with someone over a
bluetooth earpiece.

~~~
api
I call that "schizophonia."

------
Camillo
Yes, what makes society possible is 99% spontaneous respect of the rules, and
1% enforcement. It's better that way.

Remember how easy and convenient air travel was before people realized they
could throw planes at buildings? Now you get the TSA.

------
Asking4AFriend
For added authenticity, ball it up, throw it on the ground and walk on it. Get
it dirty, so it looks like you wear it every day.

------
dbg31415
So on to a tip that gets me through airports.

I carry a simple piece of orange paper.

Years ago, I realized that when you're running late, airport staff can give
you an orange "express connection" slip. I'm sure every airline is a bit
different, but to be honest nobody has ever asked to see the orange paper.
Just the fact that I have one means I get to cut through every line.

I act like I'm in a hurry, and act like someone has given me authority to skip
lines to catch my flight. And I get bumped to the front of the line. Ahead of
first-class people even. All I have to do is make eye contact with someone,
show them a hint of orange paper... instantly I get waived to come through.

Been using this trick for years.

------
cam_l
Except raves, obviously.

And construction sites.. (works better to wear a suit jacket, strangely)

~~~
soneil
And a suspiciously clean white hard hat.

~~~
ken
In my experience, common yellow/white hard hats are what workers wear.
Management tends to wear rarer colors, like green/blue/red.

~~~
soneil
There's a defacto code here (UK), yellow is labour, blue is trades. white is
engineers, grey is visitors. green is safety (H&S/medical), pink is the noob
who forgot his hardhat.

------
thomasfedb
Wearing theatre scrubs and hat and walking with impatience is AAA in a
hospital. They'll even buzz you through swipe doors half the time if you "left
my pass in change".

~~~
ryanmarsh
When my daughter was sick I used to get practically whatever I wanted (on the
floors that didn’t know me by sight) by just acting like a doctor and copying
the lingo. When a nurse was busy and I needed anything I’d just go ask random
for it. Weird things too. I’d ask for status on orders, all sorts of stuff. I
got called Dr. a lot.

------
thinkingemote
When I was in primary school, around the age of 10. One friend used to change
ties and go to the neighbouring school, attend a class and have lunch, then
make it back for our lunch. I was flabbergasted. He said it was so easy and
when confronted by the other schools staff he would say he was the new kid.

His surname was also interesting being a foreign word for "untrue". I often
wonder what he is doing now.

------
batbomb
Before I was 21 I would just give my actual, underage ID to get into bars a
few times. The door person would look a bit confused sometimes, but would wave
you on through.

For big concerts, you could (probably still can) buy previous backstage passes
on eBay and reuse them on following shows, since they didn't always issue new
badges for every show.

The other thing that usually works is just carrying something heavy.

------
alsobrsp
If you act like you belong, people will believe that you do.

------
jacobsimon
Amazing. I always thought it'd be useful to get one of those shirts that says
"Staff" on it, but this is even better.

~~~
gizmo686
Careful, do this trick at the wrong place and people might think you work
there. Or, just have a good "not my department" routine prepared.

~~~
dentemple
Just go with the tried and true, "Let me go get the manager."

------
INTPenis
I work at a big stadium with pretty good security but I'll be honest. If I saw
you running for the door that I just opened with my tag, and you were wearing
some sort of workman outfit, I wouldn't think twice about holding it open for
you.

Interestingly enough when UEFA play at the stadium they have better security
than the stadium owners. Because they must have total control of every set of
eyes watching their football matches. So even we get special badges to wear,
and have to be pre-approved.

------
ocdtrekkie
I am part of a volunteer organization and am reasonably confident I could go
out on the road and direct case wherever I wanted to without authorization.
People trust the vest.

And while I wear gear issued by my organization, it's all stuff you could
order online. A lot of people buy their own gear if it has more pockets or
looks cooler. I've even seen a few "badges" this year, despite that not being
something our organization issues.

------
wallflower
Vice also had another article on social engineering into a highly-secured
office by pretending to be an interior designer.

[https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/qv34zb/how-i-...](https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/qv34zb/how-
i-socially-engineer-myself-into-high-security-facilities)

------
Theodores
Some jobs require a certain expectation of having to bypass normal
access/entry procedures. For instance locksmiths, tow-truck operators and even
computer technicians are expected to quickly and efficiently 'get in' without
being unencumbered.

I used to do TV technician things at music/sports events and studios where you
always needed the pass and there was always security including bouncers. Being
a contractor I didn't have fall-back documentation with something like 'BBC'
written in big letters on the top.

However I would need access first to get in and then get the proper pass.

Mobiles weren't a guaranteed thing then so I could not just have someone meet
me at the gate. So the first challenge always would be having to get past
security. When I had the access all areas skills (including back stage)
something like getting into Coldplay would have been a snip.

Nowadays I am back of the queue paying to get in, having to wear the right
dress code etc. but for a long time I just didn't have any expectations of
that. I just breezed past, no payment required, no fake ID or badge, just a
smile, P+Q's, plausible story and a little bit of white, male privilege.

Now I did sometimes use my 'craft' to go to things of my own choosing - local
gigs and festivals. I did find that there was one thing that you have to get
right when you are in... Sometimes a bouncer will follow you and then when you
blag to you mates that you got in with a feeble story they will boot you out.
Offers to pay will not be accepted, you then are barred and having no mates
for that evening, having to go home early.

If you are male then one way to 'social engineer without deception' straight
into nightclubs where there is a strict door policy (e.g. dress code, long
queue, bouncers) is to be with four highly attractive ladies. Easy, no
blagging needed.

------
rospaya
I was surprised how many people weared hi-vis vests in the UK when I visited.
School children, bikers, any kind of worker with a uniform... That could
definitely work there, but in my part of Europe they're only used by some
construction workers or maintenance people. Only some.

------
andyidsinga
okay, this thread, better than the article

~~~
usermac
I thought I was reading a good Reddit thread.

------
mythrwy
Years ago I went to a multi day auto race with friends and some older friends
of those friends in an RV. There was like a half mile long line of RVs and
vehicles at the gate and everyone wanted to get in early to get a good spot.

When the gate opened these guys drove up past the whole line and next to the
gate. Then one of the guys donned a day-glo vest, got out, walked around the
RV, got in front of next RV in the line and held up his hand, then waved the
rest of us through the gate. After we were through he waved the next vehicle
on and caught up with us a bit later.

------
api
Back in college days I got into clubs for free a few times by carrying a
little mag-lite flashlight. Obviously you were with security, or the DJ, so
they'd part ways and let you walk right in.

------
jonah
They also let you skip to the font of the line and get discounts:
[https://youtu.be/AWVxmbPKTp4?t=564](https://youtu.be/AWVxmbPKTp4?t=564)

------
wyclif
I never knew this was a thing until I became a land surveyor and forgot to
take off my hi-vis vest a few times when entering different places, usually to
find something to eat or drink.

~~~
pdx
What places? Like houses?

------
dsfyu404ed
Clothing and tools appropriate for an HVAC technician work better.

Been there done that.

------
mygo
This is also consistent with my findings.

You can go anywhere if you look like you’re supposed to be there. Biggest life
hack I know. Hi-vis is good for events / venues. Being over-dressed can be
good too — wear a suit and carry a clipboard and walk with some pep in your
step and few gatekeepers will risk embarrassing themselves by stopping you
when you clearly are in a hurry to get somewhere and do something important
with that clipboard.

------
drewmol
similarly a cheap vest will allow a canine unquestioned access in lots of
places

~~~
Arubis
This seems to be fading due to overuse.

------
praptak
My friend whose work requires unofficial access to places has a collection of
outfits for most cleaning companies that operate in the area.

~~~
j88439h84
What kind of work does your friend do?

~~~
praptak
Private investigator.

------
beautifulfreak
A similar article said if you carry a backpack of vinyl albums, club bouncers
will wave you through the door.

~~~
empath75
These days just head phones and a laptop will do it.

------
InclinedPlane
Somewhere around 80-90% of the time simply being dressed "normally" and
walking with purpose will get you into "secured" areas quite easily. For most
of the remainder a service uniform (or a hi-vis) and some other prop like a
radio or a clipboard will do the trick.

------
mendelk
For a subreddit dedicated to this (TFA is currently first place), see
[https://old.reddit.com/r/ActLikeYouBelong/](https://old.reddit.com/r/ActLikeYouBelong/)

------
sizzle
This is why customer support via phone, with easy to obtain info or a
convincing story, is a go-to approach for criminals. Social engineering in the
right hands is simply unstoppable against our pattern matching, monkey brains.

------
zzo38computer
I have thought of similar things too. But regardless of what method, I do not
expect such thing would work everywhere all the time (even if it might work
sometimes).

But, they say, if you fool some people sometimes, it is good enough, so, maybe
it can be.

------
analog31
My guess is, it's not that people perceive the vest as a symbol of authority,
but simply that they are tired and overworked, have no personal stake in the
matter, and are barely paying attention to their jobs at all.

------
tigerlily
My preferred outfit these days is a pair of 8-Cal overalls, construction
helmet, steel caps and a sack barrow. I had to step my attire up now everyone
rocks the hi-vis in post-quake Christchurch :(

------
LeoPanthera
(2016) - but I don't think it's particularly date sensitive.

------
d--b
This is going to be on every YC application going forward!

------
abcc8
I used to work retail in high school and noticed that people suddenly became
deferential if I was carrying a clipboard with paper attached.

------
djhworld
Sort of reminds me of the video game "Hitman" where changing clothing to blend
in with certain contexts is one of the main strategies.

A few years ago a prankster here in the UK managed to get a job at a golf
course, with the uniform and everything, and staged a prank on (then
presidential candidate) Donald Trump when he was over here opening a golf
course.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Ju8wZukYQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Ju8wZukYQ)

------
tomwhipple
Similarly, a white pickup/van with a ladder on it can be a pass to park nearly
anywhere.

~~~
bschwindHN
Nearly anywhere expect in front of Florida Man's house

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=10TkoYIFR0Q](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=10TkoYIFR0Q)

------
notatoad
way to ruin it, guys.

a high-vis vest only gets you access to anything because not everybody knows
that trick, if Vice starts publishing articles about it it's not going to work
for much longer.

~~~
andyidsinga
wait six months... it will work again . ugh

~~~
dba7dba
Not even that. How many non techies know about Vice or HN?

------
chris_wot
Well, that's the end of that lurk. At least in Melbourne, and I assume Sydney.

------
freezenow
.

~~~
koolba
Hi-vis vest or Best Buy blue polo?

------
malcolmwhite
Is this an ad for Coldplay?

~~~
crankylinuxuser
No. This is about social engineering 101.

~~~
morkfromork
Great album

------
smallstepforman
Works in Melbourne down under, would probably get you arrested in Russia and
shot int the States :)

------
chocknog
This is the craziest thing I've read. Funny as bro.

