If this is your first time visiting National Terror Alert you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. The National terror Alert feed features breaking news, alerts and bulletins on demand and it's free of charge..
You will only see this message on your first visit to the site. Thanks for visiting!

State and local Homeland Security agencies want a whole bunch of people looking out for terror threats… all of us! So what are you supposed to look for?

The answers come in a video unveiled Wednesday called “The Seven Signs of Terrorism”. The first sign is surveillance: someone watching and taking notes about a potential target, such  as a popular attraction, a utility plant, or a school.

The seven signs of terror are:

1. Surveillance — watch out for people standing around surveying or taking video or pictures.

2. Information gathering — be on the lookout for people requesting maps of blue prints of buildings.

3. Testing security — terrorists may watch to see how long it takes emergency responders to get to a scene.

4. Planning

5. Suspicious behavior

6. Rehearsal — terrorists may rehearse for the attack over and over so look out for that and

7. watch for people getting into positions that may not seem normal.

Source

The National Terror Alert provides detailed information on how you can spot suspicious activity

Here - Spotting Suspicious Activity

What To Do If You Spot Suspicious Terrorist Activity If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals involved.

Take note of the details: Remember S-A-L-U-T-E

S - Size (Jot down the number of people, gender, ages, and physical descriptions)

A - Activity (Describe exactly what they are doing)

L - Location (Provide exact location)

U - Uniform (Describe what they are wearing, including shoes)

T - Time (Provide date, time, and duration of activity)

E - Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc., license plate, camera, guns, etc)

Suspicious activity is often recalled after an event. We must train ourselves to be on the lookout for things that are out of the ordinary and arouse suspicions.