Why is it that so many people recommend using prepaid Visa/Mastercard gift cards as a privacy respecting way to make online payments, yet for me they don’t work on privacy respecting sites like ProtonMail and MullVad? Anyone else have similar issues?
I’ve gotten it to work on SimpleLogin and Bitwarden but very few others
It can be difficult to use them to buy digital goods, they are used for a lot of scams which is why some sites reject them.
You also have to activate them for online use.
Have you done that?
I haven’t had a problem, but I also haven’t used them on Mullvad or Proton.
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I did try, seems to be no success. Also if it’s a must to activate it to use it online anywhere, why did it work on some sites? Seems a little odd to me.
The walmart $5 cards which you can load up to $500 are the ones that I have used recently, with out any issues. With out going online and “setting up” they will not work at Pay at the Pumps, because they require a zip code.
Online I have not had a problem.
My preferred one time use for purchases online is IronVest Masked Credit cards. I had one issue and it was because of the cards billing address did not match the shipping address. The seller did not have a problem his credit card process flagged it. He ran the card again and pushed the payment through.
I haven’t done it in a while but when registering the card I remember that you can use any zip-code you want.
From my understanding the cashier registered it when I bought it. Also, when registering online it seems to want my name and address, is that something I can fake legally?
When the cashier registers the card it is then available for any in-person purchases. Then if you want to use it online you have to take the additional step of registering it on the website. As I mentioned, I haven’t done it in a while but I seem to remember that they only ask for a zip code. Maybe that’s changed.
It’s certainly easy enough to use a fake address, but you’d have to check the fine print to see if it’s illegal.
I don’t think a corporation has a legal right to your address, but I don’t know.
I couldn’t find anything that said i had to, but for instance on privacy.com i believe it is illegal to use fake info so i wasn’t sure if it would apply here as well
Don’t recall anything related to legality and identity using https://ironvest.com/ but my account creation was done when IronVest was Blur. (I do not use there password manager.)
https://www.abine.com the parent company is based in United States, my point is other countries may have different laws.
This conversation has created a few task for myself. Checking the cards balance can be done anonymously. What are the threats registering a location?
I have some cards that have change (a value so low that a small purchase exceeds) that I would like to get that money off the card. Making donations or transferring that money to another payment option would be good. More than likely I would need to register them online vs just getting them activated in the store at time of purchase.
After registering the Zip Code of a card with a low balance, I will make attempt to purchase fuel at the pump which requires a zip code. I think this will fail due to a low balance on the card, not exceeding a minimum authorization amount.
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Walmart prepaid gift Visa website will not load on TOR Browser, Just to check card balance.
Using Android Chromium + RethinkDNS you can check the balance and register the card for online purchases.
General Information
You may need to register your address before you can make purchases online or over the telephone. The information you provide below must match the billing address you provide to the merchant, otherwise your transaction may be declined.
Required minimum information.
Any USA Zip Code
I used SimpleLogin for an email, password 6 to 10 numbers and letters. You do not have to use the email to log back in or reply to an email. SimpleLogin shows that it has never handled an email which was created for this purpose. You could probably just fake any email@email.com.
Please create a password to protect the address information provided above. The email address will be used for servicing as well as to send you offers.
- Required Information
Create Password - Enter Email to retrieve Forgotten Password
- Please choose a Password
- Re-enter Password
- Re-enter E-mail
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I verified with walmart prepaid visa all you are required to enter is a Zip Code, no other PII. These can only be used in the USA. So USA laws etc…
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Great work!
You did all the research for us.
Several steps to complete. The gas station test is very important to me. Paying at the pump with a major credit card is a security risk. Using cards with very low balances at the pump is a fast way to redeem these small balances in full.
I have proven you can use a activated unregistered card at walmart.com. Can we use these cards at PayPal?
Working on a personal guide to create a anonymous PayPal as quickly as possible, for one time use etc… My choices right now are to use IronVest masked cards or PP Visa to fund PayPal.
I got a fake PayPal account made up. The IronVest card worked well. No problems. The walmart gift card may have not required verification if I would have registered it to a real street address. Using just a zip code may have flagged it at PayPal. I have no problem using any address as long as it is not mine.
##PrePaid Visa was verified on PayPal. The card was registered only with a Zipcode. Paypal required a full street address so I used the walmart address in the same zipcode.
Below is a messed up outline of some steps for the account creation and linking cards.
Creating PayPal account.
Use a safe browser and a VPN. Have a Burner phone number for verification. Create a masked email address (Does not need to be verified at this time). Have credit card information including billing address available for fast copy and pasting. Have an alias created with a useful address.
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Go to sign up and choose a personal account at PayPal website.
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Enter in the burner mobile number you can verify.
1. Verify the number. -
Set up your profile. This info needs to be fake not accurate!
1. Your email
2. Legal first name
3. Legal last name -
Pick an address out, use a real street number and street name. You can choose any city that it offers to mix things up.
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Link your Payment Options
- IronVest
- Used the masked cards billing address
- $10 card, appears as a prepaid Visa.
- Did not require credit card verification.
- Walmart Prepaid Visa
- Registered the card with the zip code only of the local Walmart where purchased. Too close. Pick a different zip code.
- Use the local Walmart address including street name and zip code.
- Requires Credit Card verification.
1. Transaction code sent
2. Pending transaction does not include description.
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Here is an article from cybernews with a good breakdown of anonymous payment options.
https://cybernews.com/resources/the-ultimate-guide-to-safe-and-anonymous-online-payment-methods/
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