Anonymous online payments?
drewcareypnw
not the real drew carey, but I play him at strip clubs...
I value my privacy and anonymity when dealing with the sc/sw world. I try to avoid anything that could tie me to my nefarious deeds itc, otc, abc, or xyz. Normally I solve all my payment problems with cash. It seems that paypal, venmo, and even bitcoin these days can tie payer to payee. Do any of you have suggestions, experience, or opinions wrt the most anonymous options for transferring money online? I understand that no option is going to be perfect. Thanks!
20 comments
And create a burner PayPal or Venmo account for your hobby, using a gift card paid in cash bought at a store away from your home, office, etc. when you are wearing a Covid 😷 mask and a beanie hat, wearing your burners identity clothes.
You should already have a burner phone, and hopefully a burner/secret identity.
Just be careful out there.
:D
If you're just trying to protect the stripper from finding your real name, they'll mostly all do if you setup an account explicitly for that purpose and use a separate email/burner number. The only info the recipient receives are under your control. Or if they already have your phone number, just use that. I'm not recommending doing it, but I'm pretty sure they're all the same in that regard.
As far as the "I'll get ya next time" being unsatisfying, I understand. But I have found then when I follow through, it does have an impact. I still remember the first time I gave a girl a little extra when I saw her next time, she was at first confused. But when I explained it to her, she was beyond appreciative. She seriously though that was just something people said, but no one actually did. Dramatically changed the relationship.
If you use Bitcoin for more routing purchases, get a separate key pair for purchases you want to be anonymous. Someone's routing purposes would potentially provide a lot of hints to their identity.
Just good for thought…….
That said, sometimes I want to transfer money when we're not together, or I just cant' always be bothered getting cash before we see each other. When that happens, go with cashapp (not paypal, not venmo). With smart use of your handle and cashtag, it stays anonymous. It leaves a paper trail if you're worried about your wife's lawyer going through your shit one day, but if you're merely looking to stay anonymous from your stripper, this is the way.
About the best you can do now? Buy a prepaid visa and send her the numbers. She can use it for most online shopping, or load her uber account, etc. Then if you are curious, you can see where she's spending it!
Despite what you might think, and despite what the naysayers on this forum will write, it's not super difficult to remain anonymous with Bitcoin. Although, remaining anonymous from your very first bitcoin acquisition might be difficult because the only decentralized anonymous exchange, Bisq, actually requires you to have some Bitcoin to start making exchanges, and most of the other exchanges (Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Binance, etc) do KYC. But, once you do get some, it's as simple as using those BTC over Lightning (using a non-custodial Lightning wallet) or using a coin-join wallet like Wasabi or Samurai to make those BTC much more difficult to trace.
2. Visa Gift Cards bought with cash
3. Create a free Google Voice number using a HideMyEmail address, install Google voice app on your phone, use for calls and texting.
Extra Mile:
4. Set your phone(texts, pics etc) backups in the cloud as encrypted
Ultimately:
5. Enjoy (there is no anonymous and untraceable absolute)