However, federal law now requires that you provide either an EIN or SSN in order to open a US bank account. This cannot be waived, according to my banker. It's part of the new anti-terrorism/money laundering regulations.

I did some research on EIN numbers however and discovered that according to the IRS, EIN's are not publicly searchable and are only for internal IRS use. Since the purpose of the LLC is to obfuscate my identity from casual observers and mass marketers, not three letter federal agencies, I decided that it was necessary to have an EIN, so I obtained one.

I spoke frankly with my bank about my need for privacy, as a former LEO, and they were very cooperative. I had previously gone through some shenanigans to set up a separate account for a contractor which I could then use as a secret identity for online debit card use, but for some reason the card never worked. I went back to the bank (not the original branch I set it up with, but one near my new home) and told them that I needed an "AKA" pseudonym account for the deposit of checks written to my pen-name identity (I'm now a journalist and writer for the local newspaper) and for a debit card I can use online only.

After a few phone calls to their compliance department, they were very helpful in setting up the AKA account, and I'll be setting up the LLC account shortly, which will be linked to my personal account so I can transfer money on line easily.

Because the information about my pen name identity and the association of the LLC to my real name exist only within the bank's records, and they already know who I really am, I judge that the link between my home, my pen name identity, and my real name is sufficiently secure for my purposes. It's not Level 4 security, but it will keep the people I'm interested in avoiding at bay.

The idea of a "pen name" account is one that everyone should use. The idea is that you create a sub-account under your real name that uses a pen name and has checks and a debit card issued in the pen name. Your bank knows who it actually belongs to, so there's no federal compliance issues, and most banks do this. You use the pen name debit card for ALL on-line purchases, and you only keep as much in the account as you're going to use for online transactions, transferring by computer from your root account as necessary. This way, even if the account number is harvested and used fraudulently, there's never any money in the account, and instead of having to close your root account and get new cards and checks for everything, you just close the sub account and open a new one, and the thief gets nothing. This "compartmentalization" is one of the ways of securing your on-line privacy.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy...

In addition to JJ's suggestions about using repair facilities that don't report to carfax (and/or are physically distant from your home), which is something you can not be certain of because they can lie to you and tell you they don't when they actually do, you can take action that will give you legal recourse if they do.

Simply write out a contract, which can simply be a letter to the dealership, stating that a condition of your patronage is that they not record your VIN number (which may be required by state law, but it doesn't hurt to ask) and that they not report any information about you or your vehicle to Carfax specifically, and anybody else generally. Include a penalty provision for damages if you're required to relocate due to their breach of privacy and an advisement that violation of the contract will result in legal action. This will dissuade most dealerships from selling your information, which is what they do with Carfax.

And most importantly, of course, title your vehicles in the name of a NM LLC, and lie to them outright when you take it in and give them a false name and address, and pay in cash.

It's important for people to remember that when dealing with ANYONE other than an official government agent, you are not obligated to tell them the truth about your identity, where you live, your phone number or any other personal information that clerks and merchants routinely try to extract from you. As I've said before, if you wish to maintain your privacy, you have to unlearn all the lessons of honesty and openness that your parents have taught you that cause you to give out personal information in a reflexive, automatic manner, anytime someone asks. That's WHY "social engineers" are able to get passwords and all manner of information about someone. You have to learn to keep you mouth shut and always ask "Why do you need to know that?" before giving out any personal information.

And when it comes to government agencies, you must NEVER lie to them, but neither are you compelled to answer every question they ask. Exercise your right to remain silent and always ask what their legal authority for asking for the information is, what the specific statute that authorizes them to ask and compels you to answer is, and what the consequences are if you refuse to do so, then decide if it's worth answering the question.

Note that many times merely questioning the authority of some bureaucrat to take down your personal information is enough to get them to quit asking, because they know they have no legal authority to compel you to answer and they're just hoping you'll give it to them without objecting.

ALWAYS OBJECT!

If that's not enough, you can go to Bankrate.com, Safe & Sound, and look up their ratings on any bank or credit union. This is free and updated every three months. Hope that helps.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/bank-rati...

I did, out of curiosity, follow the link in #5039. I found myself added to an annoying mailing list.

I prefer the service I mentioned in #5080. You pay for Veribanc's services, but you don't get added to mailing lists, and you get up-to-date information. (See link below.)

Submitted Link #1: http://www.veribanc.com/...

Another person had this comment about that rumour:

"Well, the site is up and claims to be in Switzerland so the only way the FBI could do anything is with the cooperation of the Swiss government, who tend to be reluctant to interfere is such matters.

"That said the domain information contacts are all in Japan.

"Use at your own risk."

As I said in #5819, I would prefer that any PGP encrypting/decrypting be done locally, on my own computer, rather than relying on a remote site to do that for me. (How do I know that the remote site can be trusted?)

See link below.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.anonymousbodybuilding.com/forum/thread1...

I would prefer that any PGP encrypting/decrypting be done locally, on my own computer, rather than relying on a remote site to do that for me. (How do I know that the remote site can be trusted?)

Other than that, I know nothing. I have posted a question in another forum, and will report back if I get answers there.