Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: derpderpington on August 05, 2012, 01:27 am
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I've spent a lot of time these last few days trying to get my head around how to proceed.
I'm hitting walls.
Smallest one being that my machine doesn't like liberte.
Biggest one being that I can't for the life of me find a way to get bit coins discretely.
Where I live in Asia I have pretty much two choices:
Buy directly from mtgox using my actual real bank account.
Buy electronic currency from an agent who will certainly check and likely photocopy my ID, then transfer that to that service that mtgox recommend, then transfer that to mtgox.
Essentially leaving a 3 part trail that begins strong and gets slowly weaker.
I can't find any way to get from cash to bitcoins without having my identity recorded at least once on the way.
Nevermind that I haven't figured out GPG/PGP yet etc
I'm thinking I should just gracefully bow out, there are just too many hoops to jump through, and too many dice to roll.
I would like feedback on the the only options I see:
Buy directly and openly from mtgox, using my actual bank account, and then use a laundry service.
Buy a fake passport and then proceed through the 3 stage route above.
I suspect that getting caught buying a fake passport might actually be worse than getting caught buying a modest amount of DMT (which is all I really want).
p.s. the one wall I'm not hitting is that it is very easy to get access to Internet connections that are not linked to me
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First of all, I strongly suggest learning PGP encryption before ordering anything. There are various posts and sites that show you how to do it, and it really is quite easy once you do it once.
Secondly, I don't see a problem with using your real bank account on mt.gox. Many of use use our real id to obtain bitcoins, especially for buying personal amounts. You plan on ordering dmt which is likely going to be shipped as lettermail, which will drastically lower the possibility of a package search.
It looks like you're just not informed enough about everything yet. Keep doing your research and make sure you're comfortable before you order.
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PGP is really easy, took me a few minutes to understand and there's dozens of people here, including me, that will help you learn it. It's extremely simple. Also, Bitcoins aren't illegal. So you could always order them and just send them to other addresses first, like an Instawallet and then maybe through Coinapult or Bitcoinfog. Ask around, search the forums, see what other people are doing. There are plenty of buyers and vendors in Asia, so if they've figured it out, so can you! :)
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I just set up tails myself, with a small persistent area. I know how to use GPG and the keyring in tails, but I'm doing some more research here before I get going.
Given that I just setup tails, I too can gladly help if you have any issues.
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there are many many many ways to buy bitcoins anonymously. For example: you can do a cash deposit to mtgox via AurumExchange or Bitinstant, All you have to do is go to the nearest branch of any bank that they have an account in and deposit the cash. You never have to show ID doing any of this.
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there are many many many ways to buy bitcoins anonymously. For example: you can do a cash deposit to mtgox via AurumExchange or Bitinstant, All you have to do is go to the nearest branch of any bank that they have an account in and deposit the cash. You never have to show ID doing any of this.
Banks do have cameras though.
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there are many many many ways to buy bitcoins anonymously. For example: you can do a cash deposit to mtgox via AurumExchange or Bitinstant, All you have to do is go to the nearest branch of any bank that they have an account in and deposit the cash. You never have to show ID doing any of this.
Banks do have cameras though.
Well said Bonaroo - I can tell anyone who's interested as I work in a bank myself and spent two years as a Cashier, that *every* deposit is logged, including when someone deposits cash for exactly this reason. It's a simple matter of correlating the time on the security footage to the details on the system - yes I'm also afraid it's possible to tell which teller processed the deposit too.
I have said and repeat that the only way to obtain Bitcoins safely is through cash in the mail or selling products/services in exchange for them. The OP is welcome to contact me if he needs this service although it might be better to see if we can set up a similar service in Asia to my own. When things quieten down, I'd love to look into this...
Also as Bonaroo suggested, go to tails.boum.org and use that operating system instead. If you need any help please let me know.
V.
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Thanks for the responses guys.
I think I'd just been trying too hard to figure everything out, need to deal with it in smaller chunks and doses.
Decided to go back to basics and began by sanitizing/nuking my HD for a fresh start.
Will try again with Liberte/Tails some time this weekend.
If I have no joy there I will re-read the PGP/GPG threads and do what needs to be done.
I live in Japan, banking is locked down tight here, it's hard to do any kind of transaction without identifying yourself, and in the case of mtgox (within Japan) you must use your real name to deposit directly. As an example of what I mean: one time I wired myself some money from an account in another country that is mine and has my name on it. The amount was modest, the equivalent of about 3 months rent. The bank froze my account and interviewed me before they let me access that money.
I did look at AurumExchange but to get funds onto there I would still have to go via other services/systems that would want and record official ID.
That said, no worries, it's clearly not a problem to make the legit bought coins ready for use on SR.
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Exchange some money for Euros or UK pounds and post them to Vlad1m1r in the UK who offers a bitcoin for cash in the mail service. Or exchange for US dollars and post the notes to a USA seller who offers a similar service.
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If you are acquiring bitcoins this way, then you need to use a bitcoin laundry service to mix them. You don't have to, but I would.
See my sig for a tutorial on bitcoin anonymity.
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I buy BTC through Mt.Gox by making a cash deposit through Bitinstant/Trustcash. Is this not an option in your area or something?
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there are many many many ways to buy bitcoins anonymously. For example: you can do a cash deposit to mtgox via AurumExchange or Bitinstant, All you have to do is go to the nearest branch of any bank that they have an account in and deposit the cash. You never have to show ID doing any of this.
Banks do have cameras though.
Well said Bonaroo - I can tell anyone who's interested as I work in a bank myself and spent two years as a Cashier, that *every* deposit is logged, including when someone deposits cash for exactly this reason. It's a simple matter of correlating the time on the security footage to the details on the system - yes I'm also afraid it's possible to tell which teller processed the deposit too.
I have said and repeat that the only way to obtain Bitcoins safely is through cash in the mail or selling products/services in exchange for them. The OP is welcome to contact me if he needs this service although it might be better to see if we can set up a similar service in Asia to my own. When things quieten down, I'd love to look into this...
Also as Bonaroo suggested, go to tails.boum.org and use that operating system instead. If you need any help please let me know.
V.
Surely this is still more anonymous than using your personal bank account to buy bitcoins, correct? You still are not required to hand over any personal information in order to make a cash deposit. Also, how do you think banks handle accounts that they know are used for Bitcoins? I remember reading that BlueSkyTraders told their bank that they were using the account for bitcoins, and they were told that this would be no problem. Do you think such an account would be flagged in any way? Also, do you know of any sellers in the USA who do cash in the mail services?
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I live in Japan.
Any method that ends in BitCoins will at some point feature my I.D. being checked and probably photocopied.
I have reached the conclusion that laundry is not optional, I'm afraid, is necessary.
The only question the remains in my head is do I want to go direct from bank to gox, leaving 1 big footprint with a respected national bank that is never going to be scrutinized or investigated in and of itself, but who might ask questions about what/why I am transacting (I will prep an alibi).
Or
Do I want to go bouncing around leaving multiple smaller footprints with a few intermediaries who are not nearly as respectable as my bank and will come under fire if the hammer ever falls on BitCoins in general, but at the same time, probably don't care why I am using their services.
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I live in Japan.
Any method that ends in BitCoins will at some point feature my I.D. being checked and probably photocopied.
I have reached the conclusion that laundry is not optional, I'm afraid, is necessary.
The only question the remains in my head is do I want to go direct from bank to gox, leaving 1 big footprint with a respected national bank that is never going to be scrutinized or investigated in and of itself, but who might ask questions about what/why I am transacting (I will prep an alibi).
Or
Do I want to go bouncing around leaving multiple smaller footprints with a few intermediaries who are not nearly as respectable as my bank and will come under fire if the hammer ever falls on BitCoins in general, but at the same time, probably don't care why I am using their services.
You don't need to buy bitcoins through Japan because you live there. Look at bitcoin-otc for example. And I'm sure Japan has prepaid cards too, so you could get one of them to exchange for bitcoins.