If you’re like 69% of Americans, you probably bought something online at least once. There are a lot of convenient ways to pay online, but have you ever stopped to consider the risks of revealing your identity and credit card info so freely? Luckily, these risks can be mitigated through anonymous payment.
In this article, we will explain the necessity of anonymous payment, how it is possible to become fully anonymous and untraceable when paying for something online, and how you can do it best.
The number of people who purchase something online grows every year. In 2014, that number was 1.32 billion. Just five years later, in 2019, the number grew to 1.92 billion and the estimate for 2020 is that it will go over the 2 billion mark.
That’s more than a full quarter of the entire world’s population (26.28%).
Why You Should be Making Your Payments and Money Transfers Anonymous and What are the Risks of Not Doing So?
The Internet is full of cyber pirates, data thieves, hackers, scammers, and the like. If you are not careful, you could be their next victim.
That’s why you need to learn how to protect your digital privacy and, when necessary, remain anonymous online. This is especially important when it comes to sending and receiving money online.
There are countless things you can do with your money online. You can buy clothes, books, cosmetics, consumer electronics, health products, pay someone for a service, get paid for a service, and so on.
Money just flows on the Internet.
And if you’re like most people online, you probably have a PayPal account that you use for this.
Unfortunately, that may not always be the safest solution for your money transfers.
Let’s say you want to pay someone anonymously. How can you do that?
Anonymous Payment Methods and Is PayPal Among Them?
PayPal is probably the most widely accepted online payment method today, but while it may shine when it comes to convenience, it lacks in other departments, like privacy.
If you’re wondering does PayPal shows my name when I receive money, the sender will be able to see your name and email (for a Personal Account). If you have a Business Account, you can use a business name and a business email address.
You can see this for yourself by clicking on any transaction in the Summary or going to Activity and then clicking on a transaction.
The problem with PayPal is that it’s very hard to be completely anonymous. Yes, you can use an anonymous email account and prevent someone from tracking your IP that way, but you still have to connect your credit card and bank account and that is where your data might get revealed.
Of course, you could try using an anonymous banking account or someone else’s bank account, but PayPal will probably view that as money laundering and block your account (at the very least).
In any case, achieving complete privacy and anonymity with PayPal can be a very difficult and cumbersome process.
So, if not PayPal, what better anonymous payment options are there?
What about, for example, Western Union? Is Western Union traceable?
In the case of WU, the receiver doesn’t need any proof of their identity (like an ID) for transfers up to $300. Instead, the sender needs to create a security question (like “What was your first pet’s name?”), and the recipient needs to respond with exactly the same answer as the sender.
Unfortunately, Western Union is probably not the best way to send money to someone you don’t know, as it is often used in online scams. You can read more about WU scams here.
Best Anonymous Payment Methods
Okay, PayPal and Western Union aside, what are some better anonymous payment options you can use?
The good news is that there are a few options out there. The bad news is that some of them might not be available in your country, or they might not be fully anonymous (for example, the signing up method might require your private info).
That being said, let’s take a look at the most anonymous payment methods and how can send money anonymously with them.
- Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and so on are a very good way to make anonymous payments as they use decentralized user processing for token validation. Each token is verified, and transactions can be traced back to its source.
The problem is not so much in cryptocurrencies themselves, but in crypto exchanges, you need to trade in them. Some of these exchanges require registration using private information.
- 3rd-party, private payment services
As more and more people want to make anonymous payments online, so too there are more options available to facilitate this.
One such option that has emerged is 3rd-party private payment services.
Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut regulation that they all follow, so you’ll have to do a lot of research to find the best one. On top of that, some of them require registration, so it’s important not to use your real name and personal email address if you can.
- Hand-in cash
This method works better in the offline world, but it can work in the online as well. Paying by cash might, in some situations, be the most anonymous payment method there is, but you still have to find a trustworthy courier service to handle your mail or use Western Union.
How Can I Receive Money Anonymously?
So, to sum it up, what is the best anonymous payment method?
Online that would be cryptocurrencies. But not just any cryptos. As we mentioned already, you might be traced through the crypto exchange service.
However, Monero (XMR) hides the public keys (addresses) of people in the blockchain, making it the most anonymous cryptocurrency around. Also, you can hide the transaction value with RingCT.
When making offline payments, the best way to stay anonymous, bar none, is payment by cash.
We at HyperKitty always look to protect your privacy and know that even the most secure and private email service can still be traced back through payments. That’s why we have several payment options, including Bitcoin, card, and Monero (XMR).
You can choose whatever method works best for you and sign up today for the most secure email in the world.