How to buy a hardware wallet anonymously

[adaseb]

By anonymously I mean I don't want Ledger to get some data leak like in the past and have my personal address exposed.

I was going to get a PO box and just ship it there, however according to Ledger, they ship by DHL and DHL will not ship to PO box. I can't ship to my work address.

So I found some on Amazon. To avoid getting a fake/scam hardware wallet I was going to buy only from "Sold by Ledger Official and Fulfilled by Amazon". However how does this work exactly? Does it ship from Ledger directly to me, or does Ledger ship to Amazon and then Amazon ships it to me? Will Ledger know my shipping address? I don't care if Amazon knows because I am not worried about a data leak with Amazon, only Ledger.

If anyone has any tips please let me know.

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[noorman0]

Using a trusted dropship service with the condition that you purchase HW as a pre-order item so that shipments from the official store will not go directly to the final destination address (your address). You can use the destination address that belongs to your trusted colleague (the farther the radius, for example outside the city, the better). HW must be picked up physically, no more logistics delivery.

[GreatArkansas]

How about buying from some legit/authorized resellers of hardware wallets?
For example on Trezor, Trezor got a resellers page from their website: https://trezor.io/resellers
It is categorized per country with some link to their website or online shop.

I am not sure if these resellers will still need to submit the information of buyers to Trezor anymore after they bought the products from Trezor and resell it.

Ledger also got a reseller page from their website: https://www.ledger.com/reseller


P.S. Still be careful, you still can't guarantee 100% safe hardware wallets to these resellers even if they are listed officially on the website of these hardware wallet companies. As with other suggestions, the best is to buy directly from the company.

[Charles-Tim]

I am not sure if these resellers will still need to submit the information of buyers to Trezor anymore after they bought the products from Trezor and resell it.

They are resellers, no information needed to be given to the official hardware company, the information will remain to the reseller. Only people that buy directly from the hardware wallet maker official site will the hardware company have their information. If possible to buy it offline from an official reseller, it would be the best way.

[Potato Chips]

In here, it's possible to use a DHL service point's address and collect the parcel from there. I suggest reaching out to DHL if that's available in your place.

[adaseb]

They made it extremely difficult by not allowing PO Boxes. When you make the order, it asks for a delivery address. What do I put for it if I want it delivered to a Dhl service depot? I need to put something there.

I know that with Amazon it’s possible to have it sent to a locker box which is at a mall. However the billing address will still have my name and address on it. And you can’t pay by Bitcoin with Amazon. Maybe would have to get some Amazon gift card and buy it that way. Pain in the ass to be honest.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Check out this thread: Do Hardware wallet Manufacturers Ship to PO Boxes or Not?

The best option is to order direct from the seller under a pseudonym to a shipping location not directly linked to your real name and identity. How easy or not this is to do depends on both your country/state of residence and the hardware wallet manufacturer and their shipping arrangements.

Other options will to buy in person from an official reseller using cash, or to use general delivery/poste restante to deliver to a post office and then pick up with your ID, meaning you only have to reveal your name and not your address. You can (and should) choose a post office in a different county/area/zip code/etc. to the one you live in to make it harder to trace.

[adaseb]

Check out this thread: Do Hardware wallet Manufacturers Ship to PO Boxes or Not?

The best option is to order direct from the seller under a pseudonym to a shipping location not directly linked to your real name and identity. How easy or not this is to do depends on both your country/state of residence and the hardware wallet manufacturer and their shipping arrangements.

Other options will to buy in person from an official reseller using cash, or to use general delivery/poste restante to deliver to a post office and then pick up with your ID, meaning you only have to reveal your name and not your address. You can (and should) choose a post office in a different county/area/zip code/etc. to the one you live in to make it harder to trace.

In my area there are no places to buy it locally unfortunately.

I can do the Poste Restante but how do I do this exactly? It asks for a shipping address when ordering, do I put in the DHL service depot address in there? Don’t want it getting lost and losing $100.

I think the best method for me is to buy a prepaid visa or Amazon gc and just get it delivered to those Amazon hub lockers.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I can do the Poste Restante but how do I do this exactly? It asks for a shipping address when ordering, do I put in the DHL service depot address in there? Don’t want it getting lost and losing $100.

No, you put your name, "General Delivery", and the address/city/state/zip code of the post office you want it delivered to. Check with that post office they support general delivery first, otherwise your package may get redirected elsewhere. There are more details on the USPS website here: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery

I think the best method for me is to buy a prepaid visa or Amazon gc and just get it delivered to those Amazon hub lockers.

Can you sign up to an Amazon account using a prepaid card with fake details? Because if not, even if you get delivery to an Amazon locker, Amazon will still have your full name and address.

[Lucius]

@adaseb, do you have someone who has his own shop or company? Then you could simply pay with Bitcoin and order directly from Ledger to an address that would have nothing to do with you - although you would have to trust the person who would provide you with such a service.

Another option that comes to mind is for someone else to order it for you and then send it to you, first of all I mean someone you trust on the forum, if such a person exists.

[albon]

@adaseb, do you have someone who has his own shop or company? Then you could simply pay with Bitcoin and order directly from Ledger to an address that would have nothing to do with you - although you would have to trust the person who would provide you with such a service.

Another option that comes to mind is for someone else to order it for you and then send it to you, first of all I mean someone you trust on the forum, if such a person exists.

Yes, any trusted person from his friends can place an order and buy the wallet and send it to him, then the OP receives it from the post office, or he can go to the shops of one of the authorized distributors of the wallet in his country and buy it anonymously without revealing his real name and address to them, I do not see any problem In providing his real information, as what I know is that they do not collect this information or display it to any party, but whoever likes to be anonymous when purchasing any of the hardware wallets can try one of the methods that I and the rest of the members mentioned.

[tigerwood0432]

Its easy bro , just rent an airbnb or any holiday property and give the adress to the ledger company , stay for few weeks and wait for your package . It will be a temporary adress to receive your ledger and not linked to your real adress .

[Apocollapse]

I don't think it's possible to buy hardware wallet anonymously if you're not using a fake name and fake address. What I mean about fake here is you're using your friends name or that doesn't link to you. Literally you bought the hardware wallet using your friends name, which is your friends privacy would be exposed.

Don't forget you're need to hide your real name when you create your account on the marketplace, also you must pay it via Bitcoin, if you pay it via banks or the other centralized payment processor it will ruined your purpose.

[Walesone]

I also think it's impossible. Either you sacrifice your anonymity, or deprive the anonymity of the one who does it for you, but through that person, if they wish, they can still get to you.

[Lucius]

Its easy bro , just rent an airbnb or any holiday property and give the adress to the ledger company , stay for few weeks and wait for your package . It will be a temporary adress to receive your ledger and not linked to your real adress .

I think that's a bit excessive, so a person won't go on holiday just to buy HW - and people usually stay on holiday for 1 or 2 weeks, and with all that you have to take into account the laws of the country you're staying in, customs and the time it takes to deliver the package to the desired address. In addition, if we are already traveling somewhere, why not check if there is an official seller there who has physical stores where HW can be bought for cash.

I live in a tourist-oriented country, and HW can be bought in well-known IT equipment stores, as well as in several physical crypto exchanges - it can't be simpler than that.

[adaseb]

Ok I found one at a reputable store. However does anyone know what the Ledger Nano S Plus or Ledger Nano X packaging security features it has?

Obviously it needs to be shrink wrapped however is the shrink wrap custom with ledger logos or just regular clear shrink wrap?

Does it have any tamper proof tape anywhere?

Sorry for the obvious questions but I never bought one before.

[joniboini]

You might want to look for reviews about the hardware wallet you want to buy on Youtube or blog posts. Something like this[1]. Some forum members also posted reviews on the hardware wallet section before, so you can scroll down there for a bit. Most of the time they show the packaging features so you can compare and see how it differed from yours.

Some hardware also features a genuine verification program in their app, you can use that to make sure your device is genuine and not fake. For example, you can find the Ledger guide to do it here[2]. I'm pretty sure other wallets have that feature too so just check out their guide before you start using it. You can also reset it first to make sure before making a new wallet.

[1] https://www.coingecko.com/learn/ledger-bitcoin-hardware-wallet-review
[2] https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404389367057-Is-my-Ledger-device-genuine-?docs=true

[o_e_l_e_o]

Ok I found one at a reputable store.

Is the store an official reseller? Check on the list here: https://www.ledger.com/reseller

For me, I don't care how reputable a store is. You are not just trusting the store, but you are trusting all their supply chains and all the people who work for all the third parties which get the hardware wallet from Ledger to the store in question. Most hardware wallets (Ledger included) have buitl in protections against supply chain attacks, but I still wouldn't take the risk with my coins. I would buy directly or from an official reseller, or not at all.

However does anyone know what the Ledger Nano S Plus or Ledger Nano X packaging security features it has?

Follow the like joniboini has given to check the authenticity of the device it self, and use this link to do the same for the Ledger Live software: https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404807946001-How-to-verify-the-authenticity-of-Ledger-Live

[adaseb]

Yes surprisingly I found it at Bestbuy out of all places. I am surprised they even had it in stock locally. So if anyone needs one check your local bestbuy. The Nano S was sold out but the Nano X was plenty in stock.

Just make sure when you are buying that its sealed because Bestbuy accepts returns on pretty much anything and if someone bought it, tampered with it, and returned it you might be in trouble.

This is probably the easiest method to get a hardware wallet anonymously compared to getting it shipped.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Just make sure when you are buying that its sealed because Bestbuy accepts returns on pretty much anything and if someone bought it, tampered with it, and returned it you might be in trouble.

I would point out that for an attacker who is capable of tampering with a hardware wallet, bypassing its security mechanisms, flashing malicious code or replacing some internal chip with a malicious one, and still having it pass whatever verification process it has, then being able to reseal a package or forge a tamper-evident sticker is absolutely trivial and should not be relied on whatsoever.

BestBuy is however an official Ledger reseller: https://www.ledger.com/reseller