Free practice exam
Surveillance & Counter-Surveillance Specialist (SCS) practice questions
Practise personal protective intelligence: threat models, reading your environment, spotting surveillance, digital pattern-of-life, and documenting incidents.
These 15 questions are separate from the real SCS fundamentals exam, so you can see every answer here. Pick an option to check yourself, and use the chapter link to revise.
Score: 0 / 0 answered · 15 questions
1. What is a threat model?
Answer: B. A structured view of who might target you, why, how, and what you are protecting
Threat modelling focuses defences on realistic adversaries and assets.
Study this in chapter 12. What is a 'baseline' in situational awareness?
Answer: B. The normal pattern of people and activity for a place and time
Knowing what is normal lets you notice anomalies.
Study this in chapter 23. Which is an anomaly worth noticing?
Answer: B. A person who repeatedly appears in different places you go, with no obvious reason
Repeated sightings across time and distance are a classic surveillance indicator.
Study this in chapter 24. In the surveillance lifecycle, what usually happens before an attack or crime?
Answer: B. Target selection and surveillance to learn routines
Planned crimes usually involve watching the target first — the stage where detection is possible.
Study this in chapter 35. What is the core idea of the 'TEDD' principle in surveillance detection?
Answer: A. Time, Environment, Distance, Demeanour
Seeing the same person over time, in different environments, over distance, or with odd demeanour suggests surveillance.
Study this in chapter 46. You think a car is following you. What is a sensible response?
Answer: B. Drive to a busy public place or police station and note the plate, without confrontation
Safety first: avoid leading anyone to your home and avoid confrontation.
Study this in chapter 47. Why can fitness-tracking apps create risk?
Answer: B. Public activity maps can reveal home address and routines
Public route data can expose pattern-of-life. Privacy zones and private settings help.
Study this in chapter 58. What is 'pattern-of-life'?
Answer: B. The predictable routine of where and when a person goes
Predictable routines make people easier to target.
Study this in chapter 59. Posting holiday photos in real time mainly reveals what?
Answer: B. That you are away from home right now and where you are
Delaying posts reduces exposure.
Study this in chapter 510. What is a 'hard routine'?
Answer: B. Varying times and routes so your movements are less predictable
Variation reduces the value of surveillance.
Study this in chapter 611. Which belongs in a personal safety plan?
Answer: B. Trusted contacts, safe places, emergency numbers and check-in arrangements
Planning ahead makes action easier under stress.
Study this in chapter 612. When documenting a suspected stalking or surveillance incident, what should you record?
Answer: B. Date, time, place, description of people or vehicles, plates, and what happened
Specific, dated notes support police reports and protective orders.
Study this in chapter 713. Why keep a single 'defender's file' of incidents?
Answer: B. A consistent record shows patterns and helps police or lawyers act
Scattered notes are hard to use; one dated file shows the pattern.
Study this in chapter 714. What is the difference between surveillance and counter-surveillance?
Answer: B. Surveillance watches a target; counter-surveillance detects or defeats being watched
Defenders use counter-surveillance to find out if they are being watched.
Study this in chapter 315. Which asset is most often overlooked in personal threat models?
Answer: B. Your personal information online — address, routines, family details
Exposed personal data enables both online and physical targeting.
Study this in chapter 1
Ready for the real SCS fundamentals exam?
The final uses different questions drawn from the same chapters. Track your attempts and study material in your course portal.
Authoritative sources
Independent primary sources used to check and corroborate the guidance on this page.
NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)US national framework for cybersecurity work roles and competencies.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)Global AML/CFT standards referenced by financial-crime curricula.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — Annual ReportsPrimary loss and typology data used in fraud-investigation training.
US Federal Trade Commission — Consumer Sentinel Data BookOfficial complaint statistics for teaching fraud trend analysis.