amuck-landowner

Completely anonymous VPS

Aldryic C'boas

The Pony
Interesting.  As long as it's an automatic teller, I haven't had any problem doing that.
At least one bloke got picked up by the cops here for doing that.  Bank reported repeat transactions from someone in a mask, so the cops sat and waited.  Turned out to be 'legit' (just a kid doing something dumb)... but hey.
 

Hxxx

Active Member
At least one bloke got picked up by the cops here for doing that.  Bank reported repeat transactions from someone in a mask, so the cops sat and waited.  Turned out to be 'legit' (just a kid doing something dumb)... but hey.
Is pretty dumb and suspicious, but is that illegal? I know that (usually) one cannot enter to a Financial Institution wearing glasses or hats, much less masks, but for ATM? Maybe the ATM had a warning "People using masks are not allowed to use this ATM" . At least the bank was diligent.
 

Aldryic C'boas

The Pony
Is pretty dumb and suspicious, but is that illegal? I know that (usually) one cannot enter to a Financial Institution wearing glasses or hats, much less masks, but for ATM? Maybe the ATM had a warning "People using masks are not allowed to use this ATM" . At least the bank was diligent.
Not illegal, but suspicious for sure.  Honestly, I feel the bank was in the right for asking the cops to check it out - proactive security is far preferable to reactive.
 

DomainBop

Dormant VPSB Pathogen
I always find it weird when bank tellers won't handle my transactions when I'm wearing a ski mask. Strange right?

Apply some pink lipstick around the mouth opening of the ski mask, put on a blonde wig, and go to a male teller.  Works every time.
 

Schultz

New Member
Apply some pink lipstick around the mouth opening of the ski mask, put on a blonde wig, and go to a male teller.  Works every time.
Don't tell me you forgot to do your eyelashes?

The teller wont assist you if you haven't done your eyelashes.
 

Echelon

New Member
Verified Provider
Anonymity is destroyed as soon as you reach step two and purchase the prepaid debit card. Entering the gas station, convenience store, or other location exposes you to being recorded on surveillance cameras. Trace the card number to the location it was activated at, and review the surveillance to determine who purchased the card.
 

raindog308

vpsBoard Premium Member
Moderator
Anonymity is destroyed as soon as you reach step two and purchase the prepaid debit card. Entering the gas station, convenience store, or other location exposes you to being recorded on surveillance cameras. Trace the card number to the location it was activated at, and review the surveillance to determine who purchased the card.
That assumes one of the following:

1. some central agency (e.g., the NSA) is collecting the VHS tape from every mom & pop and storing them in some vast archive

2. the video is archived forever - I suspect 99.9% of all gas station videos are recycled within a few days

3. the purchaser takes some action to alert said law enforcement within the retention time of the video

4. the purchaser himself/herself does not use an agent ("hey mr. homeless, wanna make $20?")
 

willie

Active Member
That assumes one of the following:

1. some central agency (e.g., the NSA) is collecting the VHS tape from every mom & pop and storing them in some vast archive
VHS tape?  It's all digital now.  We're heading into an era where at least for large chain stores, all the video will probably get uploaded to a server farm for automated facial recognition for marketing purposes if nothing else.  Those places are obsessed with consumer profiling.  See the famous story about Target:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

They do that by matching purchases through loyalty cards, credit cards, etc.  But with facial recognition they'll be able to do it even when you pay cash.  Makes me want a Guy Fawkes mask.

At meetings of my old security group, we used to all throw our loyalty cards into a hat, mix them up, and pull them out again (i.e. we'd all swap cards randomly), just to mess with the profiling.
 
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hzr

#hashtagtwerkteam
At meetings of my old security group, we used to all throw our loyalty cards into a hat, mix them up, and pull them out again (i.e. we'd all swap cards randomly), just to mess with the profiling.
That seems like overkill, just enter +1[any area code]8675309 when it asks
 

Neo

Member
1. Buy some kind of prepaid card like paysafecard.

2. Singup with TOR at Hotmail or GMail and go buy a Domain/VPS

Worked at my side, but they deadpooled after a few weeks.
 

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
When you have ahh companies with mass fails like we just saw - VPS segment... yeah.... Include Target in that bunch for brick and mortar fails, it's no wonder why "anonymous" transactions need to exist.  I just heard ID theft/compromises last year in the US were like 40% of the US public.  No f'n thank you.

People every year look at me more oddly as I unwind a wad of cash and pay for what I buy with genuine debt notes (nice to 'buy' something with essentially a mass IOU note)....

I recall being asked for ID in past several years to buy something pedestrian. Lighter fluid maybe?  Yeah those sort of places I don't spend IOU notes at.

People might not like it, but there is an entirely legit market of privacy-centric folks out there who are hackers, skids, political nuts, etc.   just people who want some perceived piece of mind, privacy, related.
 

nunim

VPS Junkie
... At meetings of my old security group, we used to all throw our loyalty cards into a hat, mix them up, and pull them out again (i.e. we'd all swap cards randomly), just to mess with the profiling.
That's kind of a neat strategy, but since you're trading your loyalty cards you're losing out of anything you "earned" thus seemingly defeating the point of loyalty cards, no?

Where can I find a local group like this? :eek:
 

willie

Active Member
That's kind of a neat strategy, but since you're trading your loyalty cards you're losing out of anything you "earned" thus seemingly defeating the point of loyalty cards, no?

Where can I find a local group like this? :eek:
You got substantial discounts at the register for stuff you bought with the card.  There may also have been "rewards" that nobody cared about.  If there's not a group where you live, that means you're elected to start one!
 

eddynetweb

New Member
You'd think that the fraud systems providors setup would catch this.

That assumes one of the following:


1. some central agency (e.g., the NSA) is collecting the VHS tape from every mom & pop and storing them in some vast archive.
You could just put a ski mask on, it's more normal then a bank. They would suspect a thing, right?

/man walks in with a ski mask to gas station/


Man with a ski mask: Can i get a prepaid Visa card?


Man at the cash register: Why do you have a mask on?


Man with a ski mask: Umm, it's could outside?


Man at the cash register: hm... HM... Seems legit.
 
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