Alibi clubs are loose col­lec­tions of peo­ple will­ing to help each other out with ali­bis for every occa­sion: skip­ping work for the day, trav­el­ling to another coun­try with your mis­tress, or get­ting out of a blind date. Your imagination—and morality—is your only barrier.

There is noth­ing new about mak­ing excuses or telling fibs. But the lure of alibi net­works, their mem­bers say, lies partly with the anonymity of the Inter­net, which lets peo­ple find col­lab­o­ra­tors who dis­ap­pear as quickly as they appeared. Engag­ing a free­lance deceiver is also less risky than drag­ging a friend into a ruse. Cellphone-based alibi clubs, which have sprung up in the United States, Europe and Asia, allow peo­ple to send out mass text mes­sages to thou­sands of poten­tial col­lab­o­ra­tors ask­ing for help. When a will­ing helper responds, the sender and the helper devise a lie, and the helper then calls the vic­tim with the excuse — not unlike hav­ing a friend forge a doctor’s note for a teacher in the pre-digital age.

via Schneier