How to make Anonymous Purchases Online
Anonymous purchases are one more step in enhancing your privacy. Making an anonymous purchase can shield your identity, credit card, and give companies very little data about you. Anonymous purchases can withhold your identity, and prevent large amounts of fraud. Purchasing items anonymously isn’t only used for criminals and illegal items as perceived by the public. Anonymous purchases are made to shield your identity, and keep your data to you. In this day and age with the N.S.A. and many other data harvesting giants, the least amount of data you give out, the better.
Why do I want to purchase items anonymously?
When purchasing items online, physical or digital, you give out a lot of data. Names, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth, gender, emails, and many other pieces of sensitive information. When you input it into the website, it just disappears and says “Congratulations”, or “Order Received”. You don’t actually see where your data goes. What if the website isn’t trusted, what will they do with that data? If the website isn’t trusted, can they steal your card data? Or even if the website is trusted, will they sell that information to a third party? Is the data you just entered into that website online kept to them? Many valid questions may circulate when purchasing items online. With so many scams and fraudsters on the internet, how can you decide if a website is trusted or not?
Why you do want anonymity when purchasing
You may want to shield your credit card data from hackers or unknown websites. You may not feel safe inputting your sensitive information into the website. You may not want an item to show up on a bill of yours. You may want to shield your identity from the internet. or you simply may just want some privacy, or anonymity!
6 ways to purchase physical & Digital goods anonymously
List last updated (November 2, 2023)
- Privacy.com – Our Choice
- Iron Vest
- PrePaid Credit Card
- Gift Card or Exchange
- Use a Re-Shipper
- Monero
6 ways to purchase physical goods anonymously
1. Privacy.com – Our Choice
Privacy dot com is a free virtual credit card service, this is one of the easiest ways you can get started making anonymous purchases online in just a few minutes.
A virtual credit card is basically a credit card you purchase with a set dollar amount on it, and it allows you to make purchases online. That’s right, the service gives you another credit card, with the amount that you have funded it with. Along with that, you can attach whatever name and billing address you would like to that card during checkout.
This allows you to purchase things with a credit card with near 100% anonymity. With a virtual card, both your identity and credit card information are kept anonymous.
There are several benefits to using virtual cards:
- You choose how much money is on the card
- You can set the card to expire. When the card expires, any remaining money is returned to your Privacy wallet so you can purchase another card.
- You can stop or pause the card in real time. This means you can stop the credit card at any time, and have the remaining balance returned to your Privacy wallet.
- You can set the card to only allow itself to be charged one time.
- Another benefit is that your bank does not know what you are purchasing, your bank statement will simply show PrivacyCom under billing.
You get a few layers of anonymity here. When you use a virtual card you can mask both your billing information and credit card information from the merchant. Another benefit, is your bank will also not know what you have purchased. Your bank statement will simply show a payment to PrivacyDotCom.
There is only one downside to virtual cards in general, and that is that you cannot refill them. So you always need to create a new card, or have the correct amount for however long you want to use that card. You can easily fund your Privacy account with either your bank or a debit card. They do not allow you to purchase with a credit card.
The best part is Privacy.com offers up to 12 free cards a month! So you can get started for free.
2. Iron Vest – Virtual Card
Another great virtual card service is Ironvest. IronVest is a decent service and offers a couple of additional services that Privacy does not.
IronVest seems to be a rebrand of Blur or MaskMe, an older service run by a privacy company known as Abine, if you remember that service. However, it is essentially the same thing with a couple of add-ons.
IronVest provides you with a bit of the full package offering quite a few services. To get started, IronVest offers virtual credit cards just like the service above. You can create virtual cards with a set amount, and spend them as you choose.
Where IronVest differs, is that they include an email masking service and a virtual phone number. These are both nice add-ons, as most websites now require a phone number. So it’s great to have a second virtual phone number you can hand out to websites.
As a prior user of MaskMe, their former service, I would say beware of using a masked email or phone service. They are tied to the service, so if you stop paying the monthly service fee, you will no longer have access to that phone number or those email forwarders.
The only downside to IronVest is they tried to pack a little bit too much into the service. They offer a password manager along with a lot of “protection” services. You also need to use their browser extension to utilize most of their core features.
The virtual card system works great and does not require the browser extension.
Sadly, Ironvest does not offer a free plan. To use Ironvest virtual cards, it does start at $6/mo. However, that gives you access to make 35 virtual cards, where Privacy charges $10 for 36 cards. So if you are using cards in volume, Ironvest has a pretty good deal.
To use IronVest virtual cards you just link your bank account. They do also allow you to fund your account with a credit card, but they do charge a $2 fee for it. Overall I would say Ironvest is a solid service if you are looking to create a number of masked virtual cards. The added virtual phone number and email masking are just a bonus.
3. PrePaid Credit Card
One great way to make anonymous purchases online is to buy a prepaid credit card at the store. The prepaid credit card is just as valid as any other credit card, and you can attach whatever billing information you choose to it.
Of course, you must remain anonymous and buy it with cash. But this is one solid way to buy something with a credit card and remain anonymous. Prepaid cards bought with cash are also virtually anonymous online.
4. Gift Card or Gift Card Exchange
One great way to stay anonymous during checkout is to try and use a gift card. A lot of websites take Amazon as a form of payment, so you can use an Amazon gift card to stay anonymous at checkout. Also, you can purchase a number of gift cards at stores for cash. There are even some websites where you can exchange a gift card for a service. This was more of a trend back in the early 2016-era, and isn’t as big anymore.
Gift cards can be used for an anonymity tool, and they can also be very useful when used properly.
Another great way to make an anonymous payment with a gift card is to use a gift card exchange service. There are multiple services online that allow you to sell your gift card, or actually exchange it for another gift card of service. This is a nice way to stay anonymous, by using a gift card as a form of payment. Some sites will allow you to sell your cards, which isn’t really an anonymous form of payment, since you have to receive that digital payment somehow.
I cannot vouch for the validity of any of these websites, as most look quite scammy.
5. ReShipper
Another great way to stay anonymous while purchasing something online is to use a Re-Shipper. A reshipper is basically a warehouse that takes your packages for you, and then ships that item to you. It adds an extra cost, but can add an extra layer of anonymity when purchasing online.
A reshipper is mostly used for people who cannot get items shipped to them. Say you live in the United Kingdom and you want to purchase something online, but the company only ships within the United States. You can have the reshipper receive the package in the United States for you, and then ship it to you.
You can also use this to your advantage to stay anonymous when making a purchase online. During checkout, you would use the reshipper address to receive the package. A great combo would be to use a Privacy card and have the reshipper receive the package. Then ship it to you. You would be totally anonymous to almost all parties during the transaction.
The only person who has your address throughout the whole transaction is the reshipper, whose job is to keep your address safe. Again, I cannot vouch for any reshippers as many of them offer a variety of different services and pricing structures.
6. Monero
The last and only true way to make an anonymous payment online is with Monero. Monero is a cryptocurrency, and without getting too technical, it’s truly the only anonymous cryptocurrency. Most of the blockchains can be tracked and traced in the modern day.
Monero is different, the blockchain is basically private. No one knows who is sending what to who. Its all encrypted. Monero for the most part, is the most anonymous form of payment. Now the hard part is finding a service that accepts Monero as payment.
Since Monero is a cryptocurrency, you’ll have more luck with websites that accept crypto at checkout. Most websites that accept BTC or ETH might have an option for Monero as well.
The hardest part is going to be acquiring your Monero anonymously. Monero is another form of an anonymous way to pay online.
How to purchase digital goods anonymously
All of the ways listed above can be used to make digital purchases anonymously as well. If you are going more on the digital side, you will be more likely to find a service that accepts Monero. The only truly anonymous way to pay!
Now there are many different levels of anonymity you may require when making a purchase. You may want to keep the payment off your credit card statement. You may think the site looks a little shady and you’re unsure if you should put your credit card in. You may want to keep your personal information from the website owner or shop owner. You may want to keep your info out of the hands of the massive technology conglomerates, even though they probably still know who you are. You may just want some peace of mind!
More about anonymous purchases online
Anonymous purchases online are completely safe. A lot of people see anonymous purchases as unrealistic, or only for criminal activity, but they can be used for everyday use. Anonymous purchases can save your identity, stop fraud, keep your data private, and prevent unwanted things from happening to you. If everyone had used a virtual credit card at Target, everyone could have stayed safe at the Target breach (assuming transactions were online).
Overall
Anonymous transactions are important. Whether you are just shopping at a large widely known website, or a smaller fishy website, privacy matters. Big corporations are not immune from hackers, and the same goes for smaller companies. Privacy is one thing you deserve online, keep it that way.
Why isn’t there way to sign in and pay for electronic things that works across everything? Am I missing something? Google/Apple Pay are close, but mean giving everything to them.
I would love to see an app that protected my privacy, allowed me to pay for things at restaurants, online, in online stores without having to register for so many websites. It is especially annoying on my phone to have to fill in the new account registration forms over and over again when you visit a new city/ place. One account to rule them all? That isn’t some big social media giant.
Am I kidding myself, or do other people have this frustration? Is there an answer?
Bitcoin is even less anonymous than a credit card. What are you talking about? Monero is the ONLY anonymous crypto.
There’s no point in anonymous payment if you can’t get anonymous shipment.
Several legal gun part mfgrs have been raided for reasons only known to the BATF and the shipping addresses are now in a Federal database. So that anonymous 80% lower? Not so much.
This article needs an update that includes anonymous shipment.
is there any way to recive my goods without using my adress ???
Where are those ‘escrow’ websites now?
This article could really use an update. Pretty sure most if not all of these are fairly much useless now. You can’t buy bitcoins anonymously. In the year 2017 I’m having a pretty hard time finding any useful way to make truly anonymous purchases.. and that’s pretty much the way ‘they’ want it. Yes, you know who ‘they’ are.
Thanks for everything this really work ed so happy thank you 😊😊😊😊
Visa gift cards are only valid when used for purchases within the the USA.
mask me doesn’t work for purchasing goods from websites based outside the US :( (yet at least, they are working on allowing approved countries)
Prepaid cards dont allow purchases outside the us (I believe this also applies to websites based outside the us)
American express Serve seems like it might work but so many customer complaints and not all websites are set up to take gift cards.
Most places dont accept bitcoin.
What to do? Dont want address being shared over interwebz for junk mail and such.
The problem with prepaid gift cards, is that even if you purchase them with cash, they are still activated in store, and therefore LE can find out which store it was purchased at, and at which time, and check the security footage. While they won’t know your name, they will have your likeness on camera.
RED you could ask someone else to buy it for you..
Masked Me’s credit card anonymising service isn’t free. It only comes with with their premium service.
Hi Falesia, yes that is true. It is apart of their newer Blur service which combines all their privacy tools.
Great article great post and great last comment. I’d like to personally thank you you’re doing a great job. Sincerely.
Hi Enzo, thank you for the kind words! :)
You mention 3rd party vendors that will purchase items on your behalf. Can you list a few of these or point to a source that lists these?
The only reason we did not list any, is we do not know who is reliable and who is not. There are a number of companies that do it if you look with a simple Google search. But we chose not to recommend any as we are unsure of their credibility or stability of the service. We would never want to recommend a product we have not tested or know anything about.
Does anyone know WHICH prepaid debit or credit card DOESN’t require you to enter your social security number and a bunch of other info for it to work?
I bought greendot debit visa with cash and to my great dismay, learned I can’t begin using the card unless I fill in a bunch of private info online…please help thanks very much
Many times they have prepaid Visa cards many people use for gifts. They can be found in a lot of big box retailers or just around the supermarket. You can buy almost anything with them. Too add, you can even go online and just fill in your name and address on the card if wanted.
Not all purchases online work with the card, so sometimes the data must be filled out. Generally stuff under $50 doesn’t have an issue with the card.
Lemme know if you have any other questions.
i want to know how i can purchases lot of items with 50$ gift card
You can purchase gift cards that have a visa or mastercard logo on them and work the same way. But these you load with cash, can only be loades once and and are then discarded. They are anonymous and you do not have to give your personal info. If they ask just give bogus info.
Hope this helps
I understand your position but still want to pinpoint this fact: Bytecoin (BCN) is not a BTC fork. I’m personally impressed by the level of math and cryptography of this technology. It’s truly innovation and works stable. BCN promises to be like BTC at least. It’s not just another altcoin. You cannot just insert ring signatures and one-time transaction key into another cryptocoin. I believe in Bytecoin (BCN) and most of all I appreciate the opportunity to introduce more privacy into my life. And if Bytecoin can provide it, I’ll take it with no questions.
I understand what your saying, but I think there are to many altcoins on the market. I do understand it offers privacy, and a better form than some others. As I said earlier, I think BitCoin will continue to be the largest CryptoCoin success. Almost anyone can build an cryptocurrency today. Nothing similar to the security and privacy of BCN, but BitCoin is the largest and will prevail. I think the cryptocurrency market is just getting to big, and there are so many that only a subset will actually survive or even be realistic. We will have to wait and see how BCN pans out. I do appreciate you noting it, and think its a very cool concept, but people are just starting to recognize BTC, I don’t think other altcoins are really going to make a big hit online. I chose to note only the most realistic and most used payment methods on this list. There are many different methods to make anonymous payments, but I don’t note them as they are not widely used, or really practical.
I can say there’s the way to pay even more anonymously. I’ve recently (about a half a year ago) learned about BCN – cryptocurrency based on CryptoNote technology. The technology provides you with untraceable payments and unlinkable transactions. CN uses very difficult cryptography and seems to be developed by very smart people. If you have BCN and BTC wallets you can pay completely anonymously changing your money on exchanges when you need. It takes some time but at the end of the day you have the right result. Links: https://cryptonote.exchange.to/market/bcn/btc
https://cryptonote.org/
https://bytecoin.org/
Thanks for the recommendations. CryptoNote does look interesting, but it begin ByteCoin, it just seems like another cryptocurrency. I don’t really understand how its any different than BitCoin. I do see you can exchange and pay with BCN instead, but I see BitCoin as bigger and better than this. There are far to many altcoins that really cloud the cryptocoin market. I still think BTC will outperform and outlast, as it was one if not the original cryptocurrency. Great recommendations, but altcoins are rarely successful.
Just to say that Cryptonote has now closed.