Check the Customer Before Making an Irreversible Mistake
For Probably Stolen how to identify augs, begin with the Mentor's documented checklist: a visible Aug chip, unusual pupils and an uncanny expression. Strange dialogue can provide another clue, but a minor grammar error is not reliable proof by itself. Getting the distinction wrong can turn an attempted bounty into a costly mistake.
The checklist and examples below come from demo and playtest player experience. The developer's official Probably Stolen overview confirms that rogue AI chips can take over hosts and warns that misreading the signs has consequences.
Use the Mentor's Three Identification Clues
In the recorded introductory playthrough, the Mentor explains the rogue implants and supplies an identification guide. The player reads three signs from it:
| Clue | What to check |
|---|---|
| Visible Aug chip | Examine the customer's head for the implant described by the guide |
| Unusual pupils | Compare the eyes with the guide's warning |
| Uncanny expression | Assess the face alongside the other clues |
Keep the guide available while learning the customers. It is more useful to compare the current person against that checklist than to rely on a vague impression that someone looks suspicious.
The material does not establish a numerical suspicion score or a rule that every Aug must visibly show all three signs. Treat this as the documented identification checklist, not an invented certainty formula.
Treat Unnatural Dialogue as a Lead
Player experience includes confirmed Aug encounters with conspicuously artificial dialogue, such as a customer introducing communication by insisting they are a normal human. Another playtest narrator describes Augs as speaking in ways that do not sound like ordinary requests.
That makes unusual phrasing worth a closer inspection. It does not make every typo, awkward sentence or missing plural an Aug marker.
A later demo playthrough provides a useful counterexample: the player interprets the wording of a household-item request as suspicious, acts on it and then learns that the customer was an innocent person. The narrator later explicitly recognizes that this grammar mistake was not an Aug sign. Use that example to slow down and check the actual identification clues rather than repeating the mistake.
Keep Predictions and Bounties Separate From Identification
Some recorded runs include advance warnings that an Aug is likely to visit. That warning tells you to pay attention; it does not identify the next customer automatically. In the same material, the player sometimes misses the visitor and learns about it later.
Likewise, a customer's apparent faction or clothing should not replace the Mentor's checklist. A community thread speculates about a particular customer's dialogue-bubble color and about an “all Augs eliminated” message, but replies describe different outcomes. Those reports do not establish a dependable visual shortcut or a universal day when Augs stop appearing.
For the documented demo encounter, the Mentor says to act only when certain and warns against using the normal Security call as a substitute for handling an Aug. Follow the game's instructions for the encounter you have actually identified, rather than treating a potential reward as evidence that your guess is correct.
Aug Identification FAQ
What are the main documented signs?
The Mentor's guide lists a visible Aug chip, unusual pupils and an uncanny expression.
Is bad grammar enough to identify an Aug?
No reliable rule supports that. The demo material includes a false identification based on a minor wording error.
Does an advance warning identify a specific customer?
No. It is a reason to inspect visitors carefully, not proof that the next person is an Aug.
Do Augs always disappear after a fixed day or kill count?
The community reports supplied here disagree. They do not establish a universal cutoff or a confirmed hidden counter.