Buying anonymously

Last month we talked about “burner identities” and some of the ways you can keep your personal information out of the hands of potentially dodgy sites and services. As you might expect, maintaining that anonymity when engaging in financial transactions is somewhat harder. It’s not impossible, however, and this month we’re going to look at some of the ways you can make online purchases without giving out excessive – or any – personal information.

Obviously in some instances complete anonymity is impossible. If you’re getting physical goods delivered you’ll need to provide a valid address, for example. Even then, however, there are steps you can take to keep your financial details, at least, private.

PayPal

Widely accepted, hides credit card details. Difficult to