Questions About Trusted Traveler Risk

greenwave1015

greenwave1015

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For the crypto experts in here:

Let's say, purely hypothetically, someone purchases crypto through an exchange, moves it into their Exodus wallet, and then uses it to pay a dealer. What stops that person from being traced or ending up on an FBI watchlist? It seems like following that trail would be fairly straightforward, no? Can thousands of people really pool money together — millions in total — and send it off to unknown foreign parties without the government catching on somehow?

And hypothetically, in those (uncommon?) situations where a package gets seized and the buyer loses their Trusted Traveler status... what do you think links that buyer to the package? Is it the address written on the shipment itself (since you'd probably avoid putting your full legal name on a heroin package)? If that's the case, what happens when you have roommates? ("those dirty neighbors are the crooks, I'm innocent!")

Appreciate any insight.
 
greenwave1015 said:

For the crypto experts in here:

Let's say, purely hypothetically, someone purchases crypto through an exchange, moves it into their Exodus wallet, and then uses it to pay a dealer. What stops that person from being traced or ending up on an FBI watchlist? It seems like following that trail would be fairly straightforward, no? Can thousands of people really pool money together — millions in total — and send it off to unknown foreign parties without the government catching on somehow?

And hypothetically, in those (uncommon?) situations where a package gets seized and the buyer loses their Trusted Traveler status... what do you think links that buyer to the package? Is it the address written on the shipment itself (since you'd probably avoid putting your full legal name on a heroin package)? If that's the case, what happens when you have roommates? ("those dirty neighbors are the crooks, I'm innocent!")

Appreciate any insight.
Click to expand...

Yes — when transfers involve just 1 hop on-chain, government agencies and exchanges can trace them without much trouble through Chainalysis tooling, with XMR/Monero being the exception.

Should US Customs intercept a parcel containing prohibited goods, the details typically leveraged against the recipient are the name, address, and phone # tied to that shipment.
 
sofaKINGnoob said:

greenwave1015 said:

For the crypto experts in here:

Let's say, purely hypothetically, someone purchases crypto through an exchange, moves it into their Exodus wallet, and then uses it to pay a dealer. What stops that person from being traced or ending up on an FBI watchlist? It seems like following that trail would be fairly straightforward, no? Can thousands of people really pool money together — millions in total — and send it off to unknown foreign parties without the government catching on somehow?

And hypothetically, in those (uncommon?) situations where a package gets seized and the buyer loses their Trusted Traveler status... what do you think links that buyer to the package? Is it the address written on the shipment itself (since you'd probably avoid putting your full legal name on a heroin package)? If that's the case, what happens when you have roommates? ("those dirty neighbors are the crooks, I'm innocent!")

Appreciate any insight.
Click to expand...

Yes — when transfers involve just 1 hop on-chain, government agencies and exchanges can trace them without much trouble through Chainalysis tooling, with XMR/Monero being the exception.

Should US Customs intercept a parcel containing prohibited goods, the details typically leveraged against the recipient are the name, address, and phone # tied to that shipment.
Click to expand...
But what's the source of that name and phone number? They're grabbing a parcel addressed to John Doe at 123-4567
 
And on a different note, suppose a vendor ends up compromised — hacked or taken down by authorities (not claiming this is at all probable, just walking through the scenario) — and their crypto wallets were confiscated. In that case, could the government "trace" every single purchase ever sent to those seized wallets, regardless of how many hops between wallets you made (via Chainalysis or comparable tools), given that everything ultimately links back to the point where you handed over your identity to purchase your first crypto (coinbase, kraken, etc.) before that initial wallet hop?

I'm trying to get a clearer picture of that risk.
 
Get the conspiracy theories ready. For something that likely isn't even a crime for an individual, the government isn't going to bother. Research chemicals are not illegal to have. At most, it's a case of receiving a package with the wrong label. The main things you might lose are the product itself and possibly your Known Traveler Status.

When a shipment gets seized, there have been accounts of people losing Global Entry and Precheck. Based on what's been shared, everyone in the destination household is affected. If you only have Precheck and not Global Entry, you might be fine, though it's not certain. Using a fake name and a work address seems like the best safeguard, but that could make customs more likely to flag it, and if the delivery runs into problems, you'd have no way to make a claim with the carrier.

So yeah, the government is pretty capable of tracking crypto transactions, but no matter what your mother said, you're simply not worth the trouble. 😛
 
5byfive said:

Get the conspiracy theories ready. For something that likely isn't even a crime for an individual, the government isn't going to bother. Research chemicals are not illegal to have. At most, it's a case of receiving a package with the wrong label. The main things you might lose are the product itself and possibly your Known Traveler Status.

When a shipment gets seized, there have been accounts of people losing Global Entry and Precheck. Based on what's been shared, everyone in the destination household is affected. If you only have Precheck and not Global Entry, you might be fine, though it's not certain. Using a fake name and a work address seems like the best safeguard, but that could make customs more likely to flag it, and if the delivery runs into problems, you'd have no way to make a claim with the carrier.

So yeah, the government is pretty capable of tracking crypto transactions, but no matter what your mother said, you're simply not worth the trouble. 😛
Click to expand...
Appreciate it, dude!

Now I'm less worried about my $40 million order*

*my employer has a large lot where the shipping container can go (and it'll be sent to "John Doe" as a smart touch)
 
If someone were genuinely determined, there are ways to launder Crypto — running it through 'mixing' wallets, or shifting it across defi exchanges where KYC isn't required.
 
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