Burn Notice Season 01 Episode 08 "Wanted Man" was first aired last August 16, 2007 and below are the spy tips and tactics:
* Covert operatives have a hard time dating. Even if you find someone who doesn't mind that you won't talk about your past or that you carry a concealed weapon they usually want more than you're able to give.
* Selling stolen goods is all about discretion. You've gotta be the kind of person who can keep your mouth shut -the kind of person who never, ever shares the numbers in their little black book.
* Even the most careful spy leaves a trail that could get them burned. A patriot making illicit deals for his government looks a lot like a traitor making black market sales for his wallet. Somebody upstairs gets the wrong idea and suddenly you're burned and out of a job.
* When you're giving five inches and a hundred pounds to a well-trained opponent, it helps to know the terrain better than he does.
* A good cover identity is a team effort. If you want to meet someone, it's a good idea to play a little hard to get. Put people between yourself and the target. Make them come to you.
* Just because someone believes you are who you say you are doesn't mean he'll do what you want him to do.
* Clandestine meetings are never fun to arrange. It's a big part of the job for a covert operative, but it's never pleasant. It's not so much the fear of death that bothers you. It's driving to the meet with a bag over your head. Sometimes they wash the bag. Sometimes they don't.
* The thing about security is that the very things that protect you can be turned against you by someone who knows what he's doing. It's tough to compromise a well-thought-out security system but making someone think you can compromise it- well, that's much easier.
* Take surveillance cameras, for example. You can disable one by shooting a laser at it and overloading the light-sensitive chip. Cheap, easy and exactly the sort of thing a sophisticated criminal gang with lots of resources would do. Leave around some telltale signs of surveillance-like cigarette butts, a forgotten camera lens cap -and the more security there is the more likely they are to think they've got a very serious problem.
* Even the security team itself can be an opportunity. The more employees you have, the more you have to worry about them.
* Deliver vague threats and a few hundred bucks to a security guard. If he's honest, he'll tell his boss who then wonders who wasn't so honest. For the cost of a nice dinner you can get a whole security team canned.
* One of the dangers of any kind of psychological warfare is it can be too effective and send the target into a paranoid tailspin. That paranoia can be useful or deadly.
* The key to good security is good systems-consistency. But those very systems make you predictable. Where will you take your valuables? A bank you trust. How are you going to get there? With armed men in a big SUV. When will you go? When the bank is least crowded. All good procedure- all 100% predictable.
* If you know someone's going to be at a bank at a particular time, it's not hard to make it look like they're robbing the bank. Shoot out a few video surveillance cameras- block off the street with a stolen car like they're preparing an escape route- fire up a spark-gap transmitter to kill the security radios at the bank and they'll really look like they know what they're doing.
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