What to Do If You Think You’re Being Followed
Have you ever gotten that creepy feeling that someone is following you? And no, I don’t mean the government, because they’re always following us in one way or another. Whether it’s with cameras on the streets or eyes on our emails or ears on our phone calls, they’re always there.
But no, I mean another person following you as you walk.
Now, it’s very possible that when we feel that way it’s because we’re experiencing a little paranoia. Maybe a few bad things have happened lately or we’ve gotten some bad news recently or we’re not feeling 100 percent physically. Whatever it might be… those types of things could add up feeling ill at ease and imagining something like being followed.
Or, perhaps someone really is following you because they are seeking some kind of revenge. Or maybe they have picked you out randomly or they see you as an easy mark for whatever ill intent they have. Regardless, your number one goal at this point should be to make sure they don’t confront you, especially if you are alone.
Following are seven tactics you can use to try to determine if someone is really following you and to avoid being confronted by them, if they are.
- Stop, turn around and head in the exact opposite direction. That way you’ll see your follower’s face and can observe whether he turns around too.
- Approach a group of people. Tell them your concern and ask if you can walk with them for a bit until you determine whether you’re being followed.
- Grab your mace. If you have some kind of self-defense spray in your purse or pocket, put your hand on it so that you’re ready to use it in a hurry.
- Request assistance. If you’re leaving a restaurant or other business, ask an employee to walk you to your car.
- Act confident. Even if you’re trembling on the inside, give off an aura of confidence. Muggers prey on those who appear helpless.
- Start running. If someone really is following you, they’re going to start running, too, and then you will know to seek help immediately.
- Call 911. If you are alone and you believe that someone is closing in on you with bad intent, use your cellphone to call 911 and give them your location.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you were being followed? What did you do… and did it work? Our readers would love to know.
Carrying a rat-tail comb in your purse or pocket, then letting it protrude from your fist would give you some advantage. Or maybe something like a knitting needle, or your longest key. Also try to be home before dark, or at least before 10pm. You will see a lot of people got in trouble when out later.
When I go for walks I carry a bottle opener. If attacked from the back I can reach up over my head and scratch their face or their hands hard enough they would let go at least long enough for me to run.
Dear Frank,
Most of your hints are good.
Doing a 180 and going back the way you came on foot is fine, but only if you are on a busy street and there is not a group of suspected thugs tailing you.
As for arming yourself, aside from mace or a knife, don’t forget putting your keys between your fingers is a fair improvised weapon.
We used to also teach women that carrying a sock with a bar of soap in it not only made your purse smell good, but made an awesome striking weapon when needed! Almost all women usually tote a purse that weighs a ton Get a two handed grip on the handles and it becomes a mean thumping machine!
When driving and you suspect you are being followed, make an unexpected right turn (it is easier than a left) watch your mirror. Then make three more rights and you are back on your path.
When traffic allows and the road is wide enough to pull a U-turn without stopping and backing up do so, and watch your mirror for someone doing the same.
When you are sure you are being tailed, dial 911 and head for the nearest police station, fire department or hospital for help. When driving keep rolling because bad guys are not likely to attempt ramming you, no matter what you see in the movies! Keep moving cause a thug is not going to attempt to “bulldog” your car either!
God Bless and Merry Christmas to All,
Orrin
Try a hammerless 38 special in your purse….just don’t shoot them in the back….make sure that they are beginning their attack and then put three to the chest.
A handful of coarse sand or aquarium gravel in your pocket is a good first line of defense. If someone approaches malevolently, grab it and throw it at the creep’s eyes. Even if they don’t retreat, it would buy you some time to more effectively access your concealed firearm or other weapon, or further self-defense techniques.
Oh, and a pocket flashlight, as bright as possible, is also a good thing to carry, especially at night. Shining it right in your follower’s eyes should blind him sufficiently for you to elude him and call 911 if necessary.
I don’t know if I would turn around or start running, unless I were in a public place with other people around. Those tactics just might provoke an attack by a person intent on doing me harm, as they would suspect I was aware of them. Continuing to walk forward with purpose and confidence, until I reached someone who could help me or an open public building such as a store would be a better option. The person following may then continue to follow, waiting for the perfect opportunity, until I reached safety.
Fortunately, to my knowledge, I have not been followed on foot, but have been in a car. In that situation, my advice would be to drive around a block, if a block is nearby, or into the parking lot of an open business, to see if the suspected follower does the same. Stay in the car with the doors locked and the engine running and call for help. Whatever you do, if you are close to home, do NOT go there, if at all possible. In doing so, you are letting a likely thug know where you live, so he can return to stalk you at another time.
The scariest experience I can remember happened when I was in my twenties, driving alone on a winding back road, long before the advent of cell phones. A couple of guys were in a car following me and attempting to run me off the road. There were no side roads and I knew I would not make it to an intersection without an incident. I spotted a cluster of a couple of houses and, without indicating my intentions by signaling or slowing down any more than necessary, I quickly turned into a driveway on the right. Of course my followers pulled in right behind me. My intention was to stay there with the doors locked and engine running and lean on the horn until someone hopefully came out of one of the houses to see what the ruckus was about. After a minute or so, my followers apparently got tired of waiting for me to get out of the car and left to find an easier target. When they were well on their way, I backed out of the driveway and headed back in the direction from which I had come, in case they should be waiting for me further along the road.
I believe that everyone should take a few classes of self-defense just in case. Maybe the attacker won’t give up so easily