Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: ascent5154 on September 16, 2012, 03:07 am
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The first problem is I can't figure out where or how to set up a bitcoin account (I'm new here). I'm also very concerned about protecting my privacy. I'm reading that once I do this the safest way to buy coins is to get a moneygram with the red phone at a CVS or Walmart. I'm worried that they might get too intrusive and ask for information and photo id. Does it really matter if I show them? Can it be traced back to me since TOR and bitcoins are supposed to be anonymous? How can I get started?
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I don't know what you mean by "bitcoin account". You have a bitcoin address in your SR account. Just send bitcoins to that address. As for the CVS method, they ask for some personal info over the phone but you can lie about it. Whether you use your real name or not, it's a good idea to send your coins through a mixing service. SR does that for you, but you might want to use a more thorough service like Bitcoin Fog.
Whenever I send bitcoins to some address, I look up that address on blockchain.info and click the "taint analysis" option, then search for previous bitcoin addresses to see how much they are tainting the new one. After going through a thorough mixing service, an old address will be a tiny percentage way down the list, among hundreds of other addresses, so it would be incredibly difficult for someone to trace it back to me (or the point where I first bought bitcoins).
The address that I was given when I joined the silk road was a lengthy combination of random capital and lowercase letters. Am I supposed to write the whole address down and expect people at CVS (or anywhere else) to not make any mistakes in transferring bit coins? I also heard people talking about "money packs", how do those work?
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i wouldnt bother with moneypak to BTC. they have been pretty notorious for scamming lately, and the markups are shitty
buying BTC isnt illegal, and you can always tell a nosy cashier to mind her own business. if you are really worried you could wash your bitcoins before transferring them to your sr acc
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ascent,
there is extensive info available if you do a bit of research. Take a look at some of the guides posted throughout the forum. Also, you can go to Bitistant's website and take a look at the video posted by LadyBytes for a walkthrough : https://www.bitinstant.com/howitworks
Moneygram vendors don't deal in bitcoins, they are a money transfer service. You give them cash and they send money to someone who ultimately gets the money to a bitcoin vendor (Bitinstant, for example).