Direct confrontation with Magahats or going dark
A few days ago, Atticus wrote an OP where he talked about confronting magahats and not backing down. In my reply, I said that I'd go dark and off the internet if things got bad and reactivate my alias and all that went with it. It's been awhile since I've done anything connected with my alias and I decided that rather then freshen it up, it'd be easier to just start from scratch.
Name
Using an alias is legal as long as you don't use it for illegal purposes like to commit fraud. One doesn't want a name, if being low key is your aim, that stands out. A name like Donald T. Cankissmyass would stand out. It didn't take me long to decide on one.
Internet browsing
I downloaded the TOR Browser and with it, I use the DuckDuckGo search engine. I downloaded it to my laptop and android phone. It works well on my laptop, there is a reduction in speed, but is clunky and really slow on my phone. That's okay because based on past experience, I'll rarely use my phone dedicated for my alias to browse the internet anyways. An issue with TOR on the laptop or phone is that I can't watch Youtube videos while using it.
E-mail
Next was creating an email address dedicated to my alias. The first one I made was with Yahoo. The second one was with Proton. Proton is operated out of Switzerland which has stronger privacy laws then here in the US. I'm using the free version as of now as I don't need the extra features that are available at a low cost. Yahoo is less secure but I just have it to use to recover my Proton account if needed.
Phone number
When I made up my first alias a few years ago, I bought an inexpensive smart phone from Dollar General. Every month for awhile, I'd have to purchase minutes to keep the number active. I didn't use the phone that much and I just let it lapse. I still had the phone so I recharged it. For a new number, I went to the Google Play store on my phone and downloaded the TextFree app and got one from there. It's not a cell phone service and you need to be able to access WiFi to use it. Texts are free, you get 60 free voice minutes a month and additional voice minutes can be earned by watching promotional vids. I do have the option to pay for minutes if the need arises. To be able to receive verification codes, one will need to upgrade to a plan costing $9.99 a month. With TextFree Plus at that price, one gets unlimited calling, no ads, can receive verification codes, your number is reserved and you have the ability to change your number daily if you want so it might be something I'll consider in the future.
Mailing address
As I did for my last alias, I'll rent an extra small Post Office box at the post office in a nearby town that I go to at least once a week. I checked on the price earlier today and it'll run me a little over $6 a month. This is a situation where it'd be fraud to attempt to rent a PO box using an alias as you have to use your real name and show I.D.. The cost of renting an extra small PO box is a little over $6 a month. The prices can vary depending where one lives.
Gift cards/ non-reloadable debit cards
These are the type of cards I used when making purchases on line using my alias. One doesn't need to show ID to buy them nor do you need a bank account. As far as I know, there's no way to trace them. From what I remember, one has to show ID to buy reloadable debit cards.
Store accounts
With my original alias, I had several online store accounts but I mostly used Amazon. I just tired to create a new Amazon account but my phone, using TextFree, won't accept verification codes. I tried using my actual cell phone number but that's associated with my account so that couldn't be used. There's one or two work arounds I'll try later. As for shipping, Amazon uses FedEx and UPS here which don't deliver to PO Boxes so I need a physical address. In the past, I used the addresses of family near me, I asked them first before ordering if it was ok, or the address of the house my wife and I have in town. Some stores allow you to make purchases as a guest without having to create an account. I think Walmart is one of them.
If you are interested in increasing your on line privacy, one can try some the actions I listed above.
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