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NEWS: Drugs Bought With Virtual Cash - SMH

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Mr Blonde

Mr Blonde

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Drugs bought with virtual cash
Justin Norrie and Asher Moses
June 12, 2011 - 12:02AM

A screenshot from the Silk Road website.
A hidden online marketplace that offers drugs such as heroin, LSD and cannabis has become so popular that it can no longer meet demand from prospective buyers.

But the creator of the Silk Road website is planning to move its digital black market to a new server that can handle the surge in traffic - and authorities admit there is little they can do about it.

The Australian Federal Police say they have no jurisdiction over the site, which is hosted on an overseas server and handles the sale of products sent through the mail worldwide, much like eBay and Amazon.

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On Friday, the Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy referred the website to the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The online watchdog has the power to add the site to a blacklist for PC filters.

But internet experts said a filter would have no effect on the site. Visitors gain entry through a network known as Tor, which obscures the identity and location of anyone who uses it.

To make a purchase, buyers use bitcoins, an unstable virtual currency championed by hackers and other cyberpunks and available through several online exchanges. If all goes smoothly - and assuming sellers follow advice on the website about how to disguise their cargo - the product arrives a few days later.

Because there is no traditional money trail, it is almost impossible for investigators to prove that a sale took place – even if they intercept a package.

Sellers are subject to a feedback system designed to deter scammers.

As one buyer wrote on a bitcoin forum: ‘‘I ordered LSD tabs from the seller ‘psynom’ on Silk Road on Sunday.
‘‘I went with him because I found one post on their forums stating the guy was legit. On Friday, I got the tabs.

"They were shipped in a regular envelope, quite innocent looking. Inside was a hardcover greeting card, inside which the tabs were taped in plastic ... suffice to say I had one of the best times of my life."

Silk Road opened for business in February and quickly attracted hundreds of buyers. When The Sun-Herald viewed the site last week, there were 603 narcotics and prescription drugs available for purchase. There was also a small section for weapons.

Most sellers were based in the US or Britain, although a few were located in Australia.

One seller, known as circustar, was offering two LSD papers for 3.25 Bitcoins. At the time of trading, one bitcoin was worth $18. ‘‘Will be shipped in a sealed bag, and wrapped in A4 paper inside a standard envelope,’’ the seller wrote.

But after the US news and gossip website Gawker wrote about Silk Road 11 days ago, traffic to the website soared and demand for the virtual currency drove up the value of one bitcoin to more than $30. By yesterday afternoon it had fallen to $23.48.

The success of the website has prompted two US senators to call on authorities to shut it down.

Its anonymous moderator, who goes by the moniker ‘‘Silk Road’’, explained on a bitcoin forum last week: ‘‘The site went mainstream way faster than we were hoping and we weren’t prepared for the traffic. ... So, we are working on setting up an even more secure server that can handle all the traffic as well.’’

On the same forum, another poster revealed plans to set up a rival black-market site.

Alastair MacGibbon, the director of the Centre for Internet Safety at the University of Canberra, said the Silk Road model would almost certainly remain a ‘‘niche’’ idea. ‘‘The paramount issue here is trust. Would you trust an anonymous moderator? Would you trust an anonymous seller in another country?’’ he said.

"Feedback works on a site such as eBay, which has hundreds of thousands of users, but isn't so useful on a site that has only a few hundred."

Interest in Silk Road has also stoked debate about the encrypted bitcoin currency, and the legitimacy of the economics that underpin it. Critics argue that the currency could make it easier for criminals to buy all manner of illegal products, including weapons and child pornography.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/te...irtual-cash-20110611-1fy0a.html#ixzz1P1fHjfQH
Click to expand...

Link.
 
Silk road currently in process of reorganization, they will be reopened in some time. If somebody will try to sell you invites to SR, ignore,- that`s just a scum.
 
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$30 for a tab of acid 8o8o I know we cant talk prices but what if its in the article already?
 
I don't know if it is in the best interest of the public to publish such articles. As 88brenno mentioned, popularity has soared as a result...and there is sweet FA the law enforcement bodies can do about it just yet (especially when the server is off shore, everyone is anonymous, and any mail intercepted is untraceable as there is no money trail).

In a certain light, this article is merely a 'how to' guide for people who'd not normally have access to drugs. I for one had no idea this site existed.
 
Yeah their popularity must have gone through the roof since this media attention.
 
Wow, through the media I've learnt what streets to get drugs on in Melbourne and what sites to use online... If this is news to me (and others) then it's got to be a massive sourcing tool to the general public.
 
Checked this site out last night it is still working but sometimes it wont load pages.

The thing i don't get is why would you pay high prices for something that wont get past customs.

Mdma would be the only reason i would use it but paying for something that i might not even get or the cops will question me is not worth it.
 
I dunno considering how long it's been since I've had some good MDMA I'd argue that :p
 
Id say the only thing youd get through would be a sheet of acid maybe but at 30 bucks a tab wouldnt be worth it
 
mdma prices are cheap on there. if you know a way to get through customs its good times guaranteed :D
 
railz said:
Are there any aussie vendors on there?
Click to expand...
no aussie mdma vendors. a few for pyschs.

and the pricing in this article is wrong. most vendors sell in a USD base, so as the bitcoin value fluctuates, so does the bitcoin price of their goods.

for the record its not just drugs on their either, but the other good are probably stoled lol
 
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