22 ms·

Kind of surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but it's pretty commonplace to buy gift cards with cryptocurrencies. So there's yet another layer of anonymity

Kind of surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but it's pretty commonplace to buy gift cards with cryptocurrencies. So there's yet another layer of anonymity if you buy an Amazon gift card from a stranger/service then use it for a physical Mullvad activation code.

cosentiyes 4y ago
Is there a good way to receive the physical good without providing your address, though?
- purist33 4y ago
  You can deliver the package to a amazon approved distribution center ( I dont know what they call them. Basically a shop where they hold your stuff until you come around and pick it up ). If you want to anonymize it, you can deliver it to some other state's distribution center and drive there to pick it up. Even better is to give a stranger your phone, to go and fetch it from the store, so that your face isnt visible in a CCTV cameras near the store, and while they come back to deliver it to you, you can fake a mugging and "steal" your own phone and the gift card while wearing a PPE kit or something, so that they dont know your dimensions.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    "Officers, I just saw a mugging. Can you please send someone?"
  - hansword 4y ago
    Do you, by chance, write cheap adventure stories for a living? Cause this sounds like something I read a few months ago. A pretty silly plan.
    - purist33 4y ago
      Wasn't it clear enough that I meant for it to be silly ?
      - cosentiyes 4y ago
        Poe's law strikes again :P
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  The old trick is to find a house where the owner is on a long vacation or not around and mail it there. Of course you could lose your package, so adjust risk appropriately.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- airdrop 4y ago
  You can create an Amazon account with a burner, fund it with a giftcard, and have the item shipped to an Amazon locker.
- edm0nd 4y ago
  Use a reshipping services or just find a drop site you have mail access to and know that no one will be home when its likely to be delivered. In my carding days in the late 90s - early 00s, I would use houses being built that were not occupied yet or still under construction. Carded many Rolexes, Oakleys, and video games like Starcraft Brood War and The Sims this way lol.
anonporridge 4y ago
This seems like a silly extra step to add when you can just purchase Mullvad service directly with monero for a 10% discount. It might even be more likely to deanonymize you since you're forced to interact with a physical thing. It's an extra step in the obfuscation chain that adds personal information (mailing address at least) that wouldn't be added otherwise. I suppose if you were forced to use a non anonymous crypto like bitcoin that can be easily tracked, there might be some value to this extra step.
- prophesi 4y ago
  Yeah I would say mailing in cash without a return address or using Monero are the best options. Shipping would be the most difficult to preserve privacy; even a P.O. box will at least indicate your locality. I'd definitely like to hear how the voucher cards work and if that leaves a trail on a Mullvad account.
  - jandrese 4y ago
    You can have them shipped to an Amazon locker presumably. Mailing cash has the downside of having your postmark on the envelope.
    - prophesi 4y ago
      Or any virtual mailbox, except Amazon lockers can only be used for Amazon packages (unless your place happens to have Amazon Hub). And I do admit postage stamps will add some bits of entropy in terms of datetime and country (couldn't find a list of countries Amazon lockers are located), though much less accurate than a monero or amazon transaction.
- timmytokyo 4y ago
  It's also kind of silly when you're not anonymous to Mullvad or to the data centers Mullvad pays to run its services out of. They have your IP address, and it's not that hard to go from an IP address to an ISP to an identity. Don't get me wrong. I think Mullvad is a great VPN service. But if people think it's a bullet-proof solution to the problem of anonymity, they're fooling themselves.
freediver 4y ago
Who really needs this kind of anonymity?
- mt_ 4y ago
  Someone who lives in country, where their freedom of speech might compromise their safety a physical freedom.
  - freediver 4y ago
    How many countries like that are there? What are some examples? Then how many people in those countries? That can’t be Mullvad’s target market? New to VPNs, forgive the ignorance.
    - varispeed 4y ago
      One that comes to mind is one where I live - the UK. Police these days prefers to scout the internet for thought crime and to have an excuse why they don't go after burglars etc.
      - freediver 4y ago
        Something is very rotten if we came to the point where one can not express speech freely in countries like UK. If that is the case VPNs are going to be a giant market.
        lotsofpulp 4y ago
        UK explicitly does not have free speech. https://nypost.com/2022/03/31/twitter-user-sentenced-to-community-service-for-offensive-post/ https://nypost.com/2022/03/31/twitter-user-sentenced-to-comm... >Other Brits who have been convicted under the same law as Kelly include a law student who was sentenced to community service for sending racist messages to a soccer player and a woman who posted songs about Holocaust denial on YouTube. For more disturbing details of what is to come for UK, read this page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-bill-supporting-documents/online-safety-bill-factsheet https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-bil...

cosentiyes 4y ago

Is there a good way to receive the physical good without providing your address, though?

purist33 4y ago
You can deliver the package to a amazon approved distribution center ( I dont know what they call them. Basically a shop where they hold your stuff until you come around and pick it up ). If you want to anonymize it, you can deliver it to some other state's distribution center and drive there to pick it up. Even better is to give a stranger your phone, to go and fetch it from the store, so that your face isnt visible in a CCTV cameras near the store, and while they come back to deliver it to you, you can fake a mugging and "steal" your own phone and the gift card while wearing a PPE kit or something, so that they dont know your dimensions.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  "Officers, I just saw a mugging. Can you please send someone?"
- hansword 4y ago
  Do you, by chance, write cheap adventure stories for a living? Cause this sounds like something I read a few months ago. A pretty silly plan.
  - purist33 4y ago
    Wasn't it clear enough that I meant for it to be silly ?
    - cosentiyes 4y ago
      Poe's law strikes again :P
vorpalhex 4y ago
The old trick is to find a house where the owner is on a long vacation or not around and mail it there. Of course you could lose your package, so adjust risk appropriately.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
airdrop 4y ago
You can create an Amazon account with a burner, fund it with a giftcard, and have the item shipped to an Amazon locker.
edm0nd 4y ago
Use a reshipping services or just find a drop site you have mail access to and know that no one will be home when its likely to be delivered. In my carding days in the late 90s - early 00s, I would use houses being built that were not occupied yet or still under construction. Carded many Rolexes, Oakleys, and video games like Starcraft Brood War and The Sims this way lol.

anonporridge 4y ago

This seems like a silly extra step to add when you can just purchase Mullvad service directly with monero for a 10% discount. It might even be more likely to deanonymize you since you're forced to interact with a physical thing. It's an extra step in the obfuscation chain that adds personal information (mailing address at least) that wouldn't be added otherwise. I suppose if you were forced to use a non anonymous crypto like bitcoin that can be easily tracked, there might be some value to this extra step.

prophesi 4y ago
Yeah I would say mailing in cash without a return address or using Monero are the best options. Shipping would be the most difficult to preserve privacy; even a P.O. box will at least indicate your locality. I'd definitely like to hear how the voucher cards work and if that leaves a trail on a Mullvad account.
- jandrese 4y ago
  You can have them shipped to an Amazon locker presumably. Mailing cash has the downside of having your postmark on the envelope.
  - prophesi 4y ago
    Or any virtual mailbox, except Amazon lockers can only be used for Amazon packages (unless your place happens to have Amazon Hub). And I do admit postage stamps will add some bits of entropy in terms of datetime and country (couldn't find a list of countries Amazon lockers are located), though much less accurate than a monero or amazon transaction.
timmytokyo 4y ago
It's also kind of silly when you're not anonymous to Mullvad or to the data centers Mullvad pays to run its services out of. They have your IP address, and it's not that hard to go from an IP address to an ISP to an identity. Don't get me wrong. I think Mullvad is a great VPN service. But if people think it's a bullet-proof solution to the problem of anonymity, they're fooling themselves.

freediver 4y ago

Who really needs this kind of anonymity?

mt_ 4y ago
Someone who lives in country, where their freedom of speech might compromise their safety a physical freedom.
- freediver 4y ago
  How many countries like that are there? What are some examples? Then how many people in those countries? That can’t be Mullvad’s target market? New to VPNs, forgive the ignorance.
  - varispeed 4y ago
    One that comes to mind is one where I live - the UK. Police these days prefers to scout the internet for thought crime and to have an excuse why they don't go after burglars etc.
    - freediver 4y ago
      Something is very rotten if we came to the point where one can not express speech freely in countries like UK. If that is the case VPNs are going to be a giant market.
      - lotsofpulp 4y ago
        UK explicitly does not have free speech. https://nypost.com/2022/03/31/twitter-user-sentenced-to-community-service-for-offensive-post/ https://nypost.com/2022/03/31/twitter-user-sentenced-to-comm... >Other Brits who have been convicted under the same law as Kelly include a law student who was sentenced to community service for sending racist messages to a soccer player and a woman who posted songs about Holocaust denial on YouTube. For more disturbing details of what is to come for UK, read this page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-bill-supporting-documents/online-safety-bill-factsheet https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-bil...