10 Informative Posts From /r/DarkNetMarkets
Posted by: Greg Miller
October 29, 2014
New to darknet markets? You heard about that pirate drug lord getting busted, and you want learn more and explore the seedier side of the web? Check out these 10 posts from /r/darknetmarket, They will help learn what you need to know.
1. On posting to reddit via TOR
Besides market forums, reddit is a great source for information, and interacting with the community. Law enforcement know this, and can use your presence on subreddits like /r/darknetmarkets against you. It is important to keep up your security while surfing the frontpage of the internet, and this a great post that shows you how to tailor your security for reddit.
2. Vendor Review Template, Version 2.0
Ordering from vendors requires a lot of trust. They could be a undercover cop. They could be a dealer with very poor OPSEC, and gets busted. Dealers have to have your address, in order to send the goods to you, so it is very important you can trust the dealer. Vendor reviews are vital to the deep web community’s survival. It is important you can spot a bad dealer from a good one, but also, it is important to contribute your own experience to the discussion with your own review. This post gives a great template and advice for writing your vendor review.
3. Seven Questions Regarding Bitcoins, Pricing, and Security
Understanding the deep web is difficult, how to use the deep web is even harder, and trying to understand Bitcoin costs at least, a year of your life. This can be very overwhelming for a someone hoping to learn these things all at once, but luckily, redditor, tabdilmishe, asks 7 great questions about using bitcoin, on the deep web.
This is one of the rarest opportunities in the world for the deep web. To hear from the very people, who intercept packages and learn how to better avoid detection. This higher level employee at a UPS processing plant answers questions and informs the deep web community on better packaging practices. This a must read, and a unique moment in deep web history.
5. Guide to Using Alt-Coin Exchanges to Tumble BTC
Financial anonymity is very important for anyone buying or selling things on the deep web. Traditional tumblrs, such as BitcoinFog, are flawed, as they require trust. There is a little known alternative way to clean bitcoins, which is using altcoins. This post explains everything you need to know about the process, as well a very informative discussion expanding on the OP in the comment sections.
6. PSA: Using Your Street Smarts on the DarkNet
In a world of constant threat from law enforcement, anonymity is a must. A effect of that threat is the avoidance of situations that require trust, making verification impossible. Scams flourish as a result. One scam by the now defunct, Sheep Marketplace, made off with $40 million dollars worth of Bitcoin. That is not just one of the biggest robberies on the deep web, but in modern history. Scams are prevalent and costly. That is very important to use your street smarts and avoid falling for them. This guide is from a person who has been on the deep web for a long time, and has seen many people get scammed. He explains how to detect a scam and illustrates his points with historical examples. This is a must read financial survival guide for people looking to buy things on the deep web.
7. Hugs’ Guide: When and When Not to FE (Finalize Early)
Finalize early refers to the practice of buyers releasing the funds, in escrow, before they get the product. Finalizing early has been the cause of many people being scammed on the deep web. This post by one of the moderators of /r/darknetmarkets is great for getting a better idea on the subject. It is just opinion, you will have to decide for yourself. Unlike other areas, finalizing early is not so black and white. It requires an individual analysis for each case. This post will help you be better prepared to make that decision and gain wisdom from a seasoned member of the deep web community.
8. Why Is Shipping So Expensive?
After a customer messaged him about feeling cheated because of a large amount she was charged for shipping, he decided to share with her the economics of deep web dealing. The dealer explained that dealing illicit goods is not like shipping items bought on E-bay. There is more work and material that goes into the process. Besides that, to avoid detection dealers need to take slower and more expensive ways to order materials. In order for the dealer to continue to make a profit and stay in business he must pass this cost on to the customer and add these costs to the price of shipping. The post and comment section of the post, explains his position in greater detail.
9. If I Order a Package To This Address, Will I Be Putting My Parents In Any Sort of legal risk?
It doesn’t matter who are living, it is important whether your secret pass time can put the people living with you in danger. While drugs may not be a big deal, cops pointing guns at you, and throwing you in jail is. The comment thread is 43 long, and goes into methods of reducing you, and anyone living with you, of getting caught.
10. PSA Regarding Usernames/Passwords
A member of the deep web community decided to share some wisdom on a recent string of thefts among numerous users on multiple markets. While people were quick to blame a perhaps corrupt marketplace administration, he explored the possibility it could of been bad password hygiene by users affected by the recent hacks of Sheep Marketplace and TorMarketplace. The Op’s post, as well as the discussion in comments that follows it explains the importance and tips of password and username hygiene. While it is a very basic subject, it is one often forgotten making it a good for every deep web user to refamiliarize themselves with.
Do you know about other great threads or sources of dark market info? leave us a comment below.
Updated: 2014-10-29