Game theory predicts vendors should not discard customers' addresses

If a vendor who mainly sells online is caught, their only source of leverage against jail time is the bank of customer addresses and description of products they purchased (this last part really depends on whether said descriptions would further incriminate the vendor. However a smart vendor would keep all this information encrypted somewhere and only reveal it if it helps them).

If a vendor burns the addresses, there are likely no benefits since this cannot be proven. It would also be difficult to prove if a vendor is lying.

So keeping names, addresses and purchase histories might help a vendor caught selling but discarding them has no benefit. Therefore all vendors should keep a detailed purchase history on their customers and lie about it on their vendor page.


Comments


[3 Points] fun-gee:

This is only true for big vendors who supply resellers domestically. LE doesn't really care about end users addresses or some dealer on the other side of the pond, but they do care about the number of transactions, and any kind of info containing amounts, names etc.

Extortion is done routinely in some places by the police, they threaten to take your kids, seize your family's bank accounts, incarcerate your wife etc, so you give up the password or break down completely and give all the evidence you have against yourself. Or they trick you to believe these addresses will help you than it turns out it just makes things worst.

tldr; it's better to get rid of anything that can be used against you.


[3 Points] GrandWizardsLair:

Some people lie awake at night fantasizing about cool ways they can become a snitch. Even if those ways have nothing to do with reality. (Protip: when arrested for distribution of controlled substances, telling the police "I have a customer list containing hundreds of addresses and the drugs they ordered" isn't a good way to avoid jail time).

If LE is interested in buyers, they might take over a vendor's account and arrange some CDs. This happened on the old SR when a guy named "Daviddd" (?) got popped importing several kilos of 2c-*s from China. He arranged some bulk buys that later resulted in CDs. But those transactions had nothing to do with a customer list. People bought from "Davidd" not knowing he was compromised. Addresses alone are not sufficient to convict or even indict somebody in most jurisdictions. A record of a drug transaction combined with a CD is.

tl/dr: we have enough FUD in here already, kindly stop with the 101 reasons why vendors keep incriminating evidence in their houses.


[3 Points] throwahooawayyfoe:

Ummm... No. Just. No. Customer lists and financial records are nails in the coffin for a vendor, not bargaining chips. Having these lists will never, ever help a vendor in case of LE action. They will only help LE bury you.

What you wrote is absolutely terrible advice. Please stop thinking about things.


[2 Points] Makefortheborder:

Seems like a good way to prove to LE how much you have been selling? Keeping records could cause a much longer sentence purely because they know how much you been dealin.


[1 Points] torisbroken:

If you're greedy and self-centered, sure, go ahead. You've perfectly described "One for all", exactly what this country was trying to get away from hundreds of years ago...


[1 Points] SecondChanceUsername:

its against everything we all stand for.


[1 Points] Burnitplease:

Yea. Then they can renig and add tax evasion to the bill and another 10 years to your sentence


[1 Points] None:

I always thought if you vend/buy bulk to resell it was like accepting terms of service that state you're willing to do the time if caught. Not roll over and beg for lighter punishment. Bigger the risk bigger the reward.