Secure & Anonymous Mail

Jump to: navigation, search

  Main Page >> Tutorial Directory >> Secure & Anonymous Mail

  Note : This tutorial was written with the USA in mind - although most of the 
  techniques should hold true internationally 

Q. So who is it better to ship with? UPS? Fedex? USPS?

A. To answer this question I will give you some statistics on

these courier services. Within the USA, USPS delivers over 100 billion pieces of standard mail, 95 billion pieces of first class mail , 1 billion packages, 900 million pieces of priority mail, and 54 million pieces of express mail. Internationally USPS delivers 830 million pieces of mail a year. Including periodicals and other special mailings, USPS handles approximately 213 billion pieces of mail a year. Fedex handles slightly under two billion pieces of mail total per year, UPS handles around 5.3 billion a year. USPS clearly handles vastly more mail than Fedex or UPS, and this means that your package has more area to blend into. If every single person in the USA inspected a piece of USPS mail every single day, under half the daily volume of USPS mail would be inspected. USPS handles around half as many pieces of mail internationally alone, as fedex handles world wide.

Q. Isn't it a serious crime to use USPS to send drugs?

A. It is a serious crime to use any mail service to send drugs. You are risking a federal felony regardless of if you are using UPS, Fedex, USPS, DHL, TNT, whatever. Using USPS means you are less likely to have a package intercepted, because there is so much more room to blend into.   


Q. Are there any other reasons I should use USPS?

A. Yes. USPS needs a warrant to open your mail. UPS and Fedex do *not* require a warrant to open and inspect your packages. Although law enforcement technically needs a warrant to inspect UPS or Fedex packages, in practice they do not as UPS and Fedex will in all cases cooperate with LE. The requirement of a warrant to open your packages reduces the chances that your package will be intercepted. Perhaps a judge doesn't think they have enough evidence to open your package. Perhaps someone who would otherwise open a package on a whim will not open your package because they don't feel like going through the steps of getting a warrant and are going to look for another package they find more likely to have contraband in it.

 NOTE: The need for a warrant only applies in USA. If your package leaves the country,
 customs is not going to need a warrant to open it. Similarly, when a
 package is entering the United States, customs may not need a warrant
  to open your package.

Q. I know what I will do! I will fill my package with cayenne pepper so if a dog smells it then it will have its sense of smell destroyed.

A. This will not work. A dog can smell through the pepper, and it is not going to destroy its sense of smell, unless maybe it rips it out and snorts it. Use vacuum sealed bags to reduce the area a dog can hit on your package in.

Q. I hear no one ever gets caught for mailing drugs

A. Over a thousand people a year are arrested for mailing drugs. While it is true they are often sloppy and handling bulk, anyone can get busted. The goal is to reduce risk, not pretend it isn't there.

Package Flags

* No return address
* Restrictive markings (such as writing "Personal!" on the envelope)
* Misspelled words
* Poorly typed or written text
* Excessive postage
* Addressed to an incorrect title
* Sent from a foreign country
* Sealed with tape
* Emits a strange odor (Including masking agents such as coffee, perfume and fabric softener sheets)
* Lopsided, uneven, rigid, bulky or otherwise uneven weight distribution
* Oily stains, discolorations and crystallizations on packaging
* Packaging appears to be re-used
* Package looks generally poorly prepared for shipping
* addresses are hand written
* addresses contain misspelled information (such as names, streets or cities)
* Originate from a drug source state
* Are addressed as being sent from an individual to an individual
* Return address ZIP code does not match ZIP code of the post office the package is being sent from
* A fictitious return address is used
* List a sender or receiver name of a common type (Such as John Smith)
* Make use of names that are not connected to either address
* Package makes noise when shaken
* Redistribution of weight is felt when package is moved or tilted

Interception Technology

Tera hertz ray scanning

illuminating a target envelope with tunable tera hertz radiation and analyzing the absorption spectra of the resulting image. The
results are cross referenced with a database of spectra to check for the chemicals of interest.”

Currently it takes ten minutes to fully scan and analyze a single letter, although increasing this speed to one minute per letter is
in the grasp of current technology. Even with this potential decrease in the amount of time it takes to scan individual letters, this system
could not be implemented en masse without slowing the mail system down to a

screeching halt. It is much more likely that this technology
will be used to scan mail that has already been flagged by customs personnel using other methods.

infrared and X-ray scanning

Infrared scanners and X-rays work fundamentally in the same way. They are used to detect irregularities in envelopes or packages, which is possible cause

for further investigation by other more precise means.

     

Drug dogs

Drug dogs are trained to detect even trace amounts of controlled substances in the mail and are used by virtually all customs
agencies world wide. Despite their excellent ability to detect certain substances, the overwhelming amount of mail in the system means
that they will not be able to sniff all mail. In addition to this, drug dogs are not trained to smell the vast majority of existing psychoactive
substances, and due to the staggering number of said substances it is virtually impossible that they ever will be. Using vacuum seals will likely greatly reduce the radius in which a drug dog can hit on a package from, as well as stop agents from smelling products (and avoids masking

scents, which as always a bad idea),


         

Drug residue detectors

“traces of controlled substances are collected on a small filter held in the end of a vacuum sweeper hose which has been
previously tested to insure no contamination. The instrument uses an analytical technique in which the traces of controlled substances on
the filter are heated to vapors and ionized. The time required for the ions to

drift through an electric field is measured and the substances
are identified by the "drift" time through the electric field. ”



     

Substance Identification

1.

Field agents may test a small sample of an intercepted substance to determine if it is likely an illegal drug (or perhaps confirm it is not what it is documented as). They will likely use traditional reagent tests, such as marquis, to accomplish this. A positive result on a reagent test does not absolutely verify what a substance is, but it is likely probable cause for a search warrant, as it will take some time to get a substance GC/MS tested and they are not usually

going to want to tip off a suspect with undue delays. 






2.

Absolute identification of a substance will likely be done by GC/MS at a lab. after a package is intercepted GC/MS testing will likely take some time to complete, but is guaranteed to positively identify a substance, provided the lab testing has a reference. Some rare drugs may be difficult for some labs to correctly identify.

Evidence Gathering Methods

1. Fingerprinting the outside and inside of a package

2. Handwriting analysis

3. Analyzing paper and ink

4. Analyzing type impressions

5. Forensic analysis of trace evidence (Adhesives, fibers, hair, paint, paper, plastic, rubber, tape and insulation from safes).

6. Post office surveillance of individuals suspected of sending or receiving drug mail

7. There are reports of tracking devices being hidden inside intercepted packages when they are being sent to a safe location such as fraudulently obtained PO boxes. The tracking devices then follow the recipient back to their base location where an arrest is later made.

8. There are reports of people being raided after checking tracking of illegal packages online with out using Tor or similar anonymity techniques. ALWAYS use an anonymity service when checking your shipping details.

Reactions to Interceptions

Controlled Delivery

To bust recipients of intercepted drug mail, customs officials will often dress as postmen and make an arrest after the suspect accepts the package. Often times they will allow a few minutes to pass in hopes that the suspect will have opened the package, and then raid the premises. This happens almost always in the case of non-pharmaceutical illegal drug interceptions, and often times with scheduled opiate

prescriptions.

       

The "Love Letter"

Sometimes if you are getting very small amounts of drugs, especially lowly scheduled drugs and pharmaceuticals, you will only get a letter from customs telling you to knock your shit off. They will almost certainly keep your address in a database, so once you get a love

letter make sure never to use that address again.

Surveillance

You can expect that if you get one package seized, that other incoming packages are likely to be seized as well. So try and only have one incoming pack per box at a time. Also, it is quite likely return address networks can be formed, especially with fast shipping methods. So never ever send mail from a box that has a tie to you unless you get the box JUST for that purpose. Also very frequently change the return address you use to stop network analysis from being done.

Packaging Tips: Senders

Labeling

1. Use a real return address but make sure it has no connection to you. Frequently change your return address to prevent return address based network analysis. Ensure the ZIP code used is the same one of the drop box you plan to send the package from. A generally sound practice is to use the legitimate address of an apartment complex but do NOT specify an actual number.

2. The name used should be generic but not overly common.

3. Keep the front of the package as clean as possible. It should have no markings other than a shipping and return address.

4. Double check to make sure all information is correct. Also ensure that all words are spelled correctly.

5. Both addresses should be typed and printed, not handwritten. Ensure the printer used has minimal connection to you (paid for in cash, from a friend, not used for other things). It is easy for forensics to link print to the printer it came from. You may want to use a very cheap printer and dispose of it and get a new one on a semi regular basis (perhaps four times a year). 

6. Exact postage should be applied neatly to the package.

7. Do not seal the package with tape

8. Use self adhesive envelopes and stamps.

Packaging

1. Do not attempt to use masking scents, they are completely worthless against dogs, and are a flag to humans.

2. Double vacuum seal the substance, attempting to spread substance out as thinly and evenly as possible. One method for particularly smelly or sensitive items is to vac seal them once, then change gloves to clean pair (you can use tight fitting driving gloves and simply change a pair of latex gloves over top of them), then scrub the outside of the vac bag with a light bleach solution. Then vac seal the vac seal bag after it dries *fully* (double vac seal). Ensure that there is no remaining smell of bleach escaping through the bag.

3. Using super glue or spray adhesive, secure the vacuum sealed bag to a piece of construction paper. Make sure it is secured tightly and that product does not make noises when shaken. Tape should generally be avoided as it tends to add significant weight (especially to smaller orders) and be harder to get a solid stick with. Make sure if you use spray adhesive to be careful not to get dust and such stuck that could be forensically analyzed, although this is unlikely to be a huge issue and anything sticky will leave trace amounts of dusts.

4. Fold the construction paper over on itself to make it take up as little area as possibly yet still be accommodating for the vacuum sealed bag.

5. If the thicker cardboard priority envelopes are available, the first envelope should be inserted into one of these. Both envelopes should be addressed.

Security Tips: Senders

1. At all stages of packaging gloves should be worn. Latex gloves should NOT be used by themselves, they are so thin that if any debris (including dust) gets on them, you will leave debris impressions of your fingerprints on what you touch similar to a rubber stamp. Tight fitting gloves made out of cloth or some other material should be utilized. During the stage of packaging where you come in contact with the substance, latex gloves should be worn over the regular gloves. After the substance is vacuum sealed, the latex over gloves should be removed and disposed of before coming into contact with the outer parts of the packaging, to avoid contaminating it with trace amounts of the substance.

2. Hairnets and long sleeved clothing should be worn during all stages of packaging to prevent hairs from entering the package.

3. Packages should not be sent from inside post offices but from random drop boxes away from cameras and buildings with cameras. Some care should none the less be taken to disguise facial features and identifying marks.

4. keep in mind that the total weight of a package sent via one of the drop off boxes, at least in the United States, is 13 ounces or less.

5. The closer to a standard envelope your package looks, the less likely it is to get intercepted.

Security Tips: Recipients

1. The best option for recipients it to use PO boxes or PMBs obtained with fake identification. Mom and Pop box companies often have poor security compared to franchises, for example they are less likely to require photocopies of the ID and also are less likely to have a camera system, or if they do have a camera system it is probably very poor as compared to a big franchise company. Recipients using PO boxes should wait for a lengthy yet random period of time after the package arrives to attempt retrieval. This waiting period dramatically decreases the chances of being apprehended as prolonged surveillance is very expensive. Disguising efforts should be utilized when retrieving packages (WEAR GLOVES, OR GLUE YOUR FINGER TIPS!), and test runs should also be attempted. (Note: If you are worried about a photocopy of you ID being taken when you open a box, spray hair spray over the face of the card. This will not catch the human eye but will cause the photocopy to be distorted and poor quality. I also suggest if you get a fake ID that you edit your picture slightly in photoshop, slightly change the distance between your eyes and nose. This will prevent someone with a photocopy of your fake ID from finding you by running through the legitimate drivers lisence database with facial recognition technology).

2. Do not park near the box place you are using. At the very least park a block away and walk to it. A better plan is to call a taxi from a tracfone and have them pick you up a block away from where you live and drop you off a block away from your box. After you retrieve your package, put it in an anti static bag immediately upon leaving the store. The anti static bag acts as a Faraday cage (make sure the entire package is inside), and will prevent a homing signal from giving your location while the packaging is contained. Walk to a fast food restaurant or some such thing, and take the package into the rest room area. Go through the packaging and check it for bugs as quickly as possible. Destroy the packaging to the best of your ability and dispose of it (perhaps down the toilet). Now call for a second taxi to pick you up and drop you off a block away from your place of living, and walk back home. It will help to decide the routes you want to take, and the packaging disposal place you want to use, ahead of time.

3. Another excellent option is to have packages sent to abandoned buildings or houses. The same security methods should be applied as when using a fraudulently obtained mail box.

4. If a recipient must have a package delivered to a place connected with them, they should ensure said place is clean between shipments. Clean houses of friends can also be used. Upon receiving a package to a place with connections to the recipient, they should not open it but should write return to sender on it. After several days, then the package is safe to be opened. Recipient should NEVER select to have shipping methods which require a package to be signed for.


5. No matter where you get packages sent, get a feel for the place. Learn to recognize the people that work at your box place. Remember what your mail man looks like. Controlled deliveries are not handled by your traditional mail man, and if a random guy in a mail man uniform asks you to sign something, you should use your head (never sign). Similarly, if a friendly neighbor or dude down the street who you never saw before in your life comes by to give you mail they accidentally had delivered to them, make sure you deny it is yours and ask them to just toss it or something. Also, don't run into your box store immediately, stake the place out and get a feel for the area, see if anyone else is keeping an eye on the place or if it is just you.

6. Shipping speed is something that needs to be thought about carefully. Sending very fast will rush law enforcements time to obtain a warrant, but will make the package stick out as well. Slow time will make it difficult to determine based on time if a package has been seized or not, but will allow the package to blend in and make it less likely to be seized in the first place. Mail should almost always be sent tracked, and almost never sent with signature. Recipient will be able to check the status of the package online (USE TOR) if it is tracked, and many times the tracking will signal you that the package has been seized (which is excellent to know if it was sent to a fake ID po box you can just drop.) but who knows how long it will take before they notice what is being done and stop announcing on tracking that packages have been seized. I suggest you send messages with a middle level of priority, fast enough that a delay could be noticed but slow enough that the package will not stick out. Try to stay away from both sides of the speed spectrum, but I would say in general slower will be a bit less likely to get seized and faster will be more likely to tip you off

if the package is in fact seized.