So, you want to be a spy ? So, you want to be a spy? It’s not going to be easy. Spying is a dangerous job. You can’t tell anyone you’re doing it. Spies have to find out top-secret information without being discovered. This information is used by governments to protect the country from terrorism, corruption, and even war. Some big businesses use spies to find out what their rivals are doing and to steal ideas. Finding out this top-secret information can involve lots of risk and danger, so spies are favourite characters for adventure books and films. Real spies also spend quite a lot of time sitting in offices and writing reports! Characters like James Bond and Alex Rider are fictional spies from books and films. Real spies don’t usually find themselves jumping through fire or hanging from buildings!
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Spies used to be recruited in secret meetings. These days spies, or agents as they are called, are more likely to be recruited through posters on trains and advertisements in the newspaper. This poster is like one used to advertise jobs in one of the British Government’s departments for spies.
Want to be a spy?
Call now or em ail us on
jobs@secretspy s.com
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Looking for a job with excitement?
carry We need agents who can und out top-secret work all aro for g kin loo the world. We are people who: d • are of average height an nd sta n’t do o wh weight, and out in a crowd ages • can speak foreign langu gy • are good with technolo
ry and • have an excellent memo s are good at keeping secret work • won’t boast about their ily fam d to their friends an us • can stay calm in dangero situations. ase If this sounds like you, ple an for ask visit our website and application for m.
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In this book, spy-speak is in italics. Turn to page 30 to find out what each term means.
What’s your spy name? Spies use code names to keep their identity secret. To make up your spy name: 1. Think of your favourite colour 2. Think of your favourite animal 3. Put the two together. 3
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Welcome ...
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rn how to: a le t s u m u o y r spy cted To be a prope ut being dete o h it w n o ti a rm • pass on info shouldn’t be u o y e r e h w s e ow. • get into plac u shouldn’t kn o y t a th s g in • find out th
thing ! tell you every l il w w o n DON’T PANIC t h rig they use. in your hands ts e k g o o d a b g e e th th y, d il n Luck do a ut what spies o b a w o n k to you need
Beware Be careful – this book may have been intercepted by enemy agents. They may have added some false information to mislead you. When you read the ‘True or False’ boxes, you must decide whether you think the information is real or made up. You can find the answers on page 30 – in code, of course. 4
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How to look like a spy Would you know a spy if you saw one? Do you think they wear dark glasses and long coats? Do they look sneaky and shifty? The truth is you probably wouldn’t recognize a spy even if one came and sat next to you on the bus. Spies need to make sure they’re not recognized as spies, otherwise their cover would be blown (see page 30 to find out what blow your cover means in spy-speak). The best spies are the people who look as normal as possible.
Which of these people is the real spy?
A C B
See page 30 for the right answer.
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Learning the moves
Spies need to know the ways to pass on top-secret information without being noticed (called tradecraft in spy-speak).
The dead drop This is a hiding place used by spies to leave and collect information. It needs to look as normal as possible, so that no one else will notice it. Here are some good dead drop places: • a secret letter could be left in-between the pages of a library book or stuck underneath a desk or chair • a small package could be left under a bush in a park or in a hollow tree • top-secret documents could be slid in-between some panels of a fence or behind a loose brick in a wall.
This fake rock was shown on Russian TV. The top opened to reveal a hidden transistor.
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Training exercise
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Look out for some good dead drop places in your school. Try leaving messages there and using signals to tell a friend to collect them. Remember – neither of you must be seen!
Signals You need to use an agreed signal to let the other spy know that the information is in the dead drop location. The signal could be: • a newspaper left on a bench • a handkerchief ‘dropped’ in the street • a small chalk mark made on a wall. The signal must be something that won’t be noticed by anyone, except the other spy.
True or False? Dead drop nail In America, in the 1950s, a spy for the Soviet Union used a nail to hide his messages. Inside the nail was a hollowed out container. He would roll up his messages and put them inside it. Then he would hide the nail in a hole in some steps outside a park in New York City. 7
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The brush pass
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The brush pass is a move that will need lots of practice. If it goes wrong it could blow your cover. The brush pass is when two spies ‘brush’ past each other. In the blink of an eye they pass documents between them. When done properly, no one else notices. It just looks like they have slightly knocked into each other. This is best done in a busy place, like a crowded street. Other locations for the brush pass are: • a crowded train or in a station • a busy shop • a busy event like a concert.
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The switch This move involves ‘switching’ identical bags. The switch needs to look as natural as possible, for example:
1. The first spy sits down at a café table. He puts his bag down.
2. The second spy takes the table next to the first spy. She puts an identical bag down next to the first one. 3. The two spies do not speak, but when they leave they take each other’s bags. The first spy’s bag, is now with the second spy. S p y
Training exercise
School
Practise ‘the brush pass’ and ‘the switch’ in the playground with another friend. You will need to make the moves look totally natural. Ask another friend to tell you if they noticed what happened.
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Secret writing
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Reply
Forward
From: Spy School To: Our newest recruit Subject: How to send se cret messages Dear Special agent traine
e,
Invisible ink is an excelle nt way to send secret me ssages and is easy to make. What you’ll need: • Lemon juice • A small bowl • A small paintbrush or co tton bud • A piece of paper • A radiator or other safe heat source Instructions: 1. Pour the lemon juice into the bowl. 2. Dip the cotton bud or paintbrush into the juice . 3. Write your message on the paper – it should be invisible. To reveal the message: Hold the paper over the radiator. The words will magically appear!
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True or False? Egg-stremely secret messages Spies aren’t just a modern thing. In the sixteenth century, Giovanni Porta, an Italian scientist, made a special ink. He mixed a chemical called alum with vinegar. He used it to write a message on the shell of an egg. When the egg was boiled, the message couldn’t be seen on the shell, but when the egg was peeled, the message was readable on the cooked white of the egg. The message could then be eaten, so there would be no trace of it!
See page 30 for the right answer.
German spy Courtney de Rysbach wrote this letter using invisible ink during the First World War. He wrote the words between lines of music so it wouldn't look like a letter.
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