What You Need to Know About Anonymous Prepaid Credit Cards

Welcome to the world, post September 11 – a world where the terrorists took many things from us, including the ability to easily find anonymous prepaid credit cards. Back in the day, you used to be able to get a prepaid credit card without even supplying your real name. Nowadays, it's hard to find one that doesn't require a social security number. We have stricter laws to thank for this – laws that are supposed to keep us safe from terrorists (but somehow affect our own freedoms at the same time). If you're wondering how to get access to truly anonymous prepaid credit cards, here are some things to keep in mind.

Why Would Someone Want Anonymous Prepaid Credit Cards?

Before we go into the "hows" of anonymous prepaid credit cards, let's discuss the "whys" of the matter. Some believe that only those with something to hide would want one to begin with. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Whenever you make a purchase with a credit card, your spending habits are tracked. Every movie you rent, every medication you buy – it's all there on display in some database somewhere. Do you really want Uncle Sam knowing what you eat for dinner, where you shop, what movies you watch and what you buy when you go to the mall?

Alas, there is often a legitimate need for anonymous prepaid credit cards and privacy is one of them. Some of us just aren't comfortable with the fact that every non-cash purchase we make can be tracked. It's not that we're doing anything wrong – it's just that it's no one else's business.

Of course, paying for everything with cash isn't always an option. Ever try buying something online with cash? Tell me how it goes for you. Sometimes the only solution to privacy woes is an anonymous prepaid credit card.

They Are Out There

If financial institutions are requiring names, addresses and social security numbers for prepaid credit cards, is "anonymous" a thing of the past? Not necessarily.

You can indeed find anonymous prepaid credit cards. They're just not wrapped up the same anymore. Companies like Visa and American Express now offer gift cards that work much the same way that prepaid credit cards do, but you don't have to provide personal information to buy or use them.

That being said, it's important to note that some prepaid gift cards are now requiring you to register them with a social security number. How do you get around this? Know which ones don't require this information. The American Express gift card is one of them. So is the Vanilla Visa gift card.

The Reload Issue

Some of these gift cards are re-loadable and some are not. Sometimes it depends on where you purchase them. If you want to use these as anonymous prepaid credit cards and don't want to keep changing your credit card number each time the balance runs out, make sure you get one with a re-load option.

Don't give up hope yet, my privacy-conscious friends. While getting anonymous prepaid credit cards isn't as easy as it used to be, it can still be done.