You might have noticed recent news reports about how a US court forced Google first to block an innocent user’s private e-mail account, then reveal that person’s identity – all because a careless bank employee accidentally e-mailed sensitive data to that Gmail account.

This case certainly demonstrates why anyone who values their privacy would be better off keeping their e-mail on offshore e-mail servers. Here at The Q Wealth Report, for a limited time we are offering a free offshore e-mail account on an encrypted server to all our subscribers. Details of how to claim yours are below.

Let’s look a little more about how overseas or offshore e-mail can protect your online privacy. Maybe you are concerned about the privacy of your financial communications with your offshore bank. More likely, you simply value your freedom too much and don’t want Big Brother looking over your shoulder.

I don’t have much confidence in the US court system, but even I was amazed to read about this severe intrusion on a user’s privacy. Imagine the inconvenience of having your e-mail account blocked because just somebody sent you an e-mail my mistake – something you most likely deleted believing it to be spam. Well that’s exactly what happened.

News reports indicate that the court issued an order, insisting that Google block the e-mail account in question, then reveal whether the account was still active and whether the data in question had been viewed. And if the account was active, the order continued, Google was required to hand over the account holder’s identity and contact information.

Google, to their credit, did fight the case – but  lost. The plaintiffs, Rocky Mountain Bank (who were responsible for the error in the first place) even had the nerve to try to hush everything up: they filed a motion to seal the entire case on the grounds that if the information became public, “it would create panic and result in a surge of inquiries from customers.” Fortunately the court rejected this motion.

“The case underlines what should be obvious to Google watchers,” comments Cade Metz, writing in The Register. “Though the company vows to protect your personal data, it can be compelled by court order or subpoena or natural security letter to divulge such info. And then there’s the judge’s ill-advised decision to order the deactivation of a bystander’s email account.”

And therein lies the problem, to which offshore e-mail is the solution. For a limited time, we are offering a simple but effective free e-mail account to all subscribers. This e-mail account will be hosted on a fully encrypted offshore server, safely outside your home country’s jurisdiction (though no-one would routinely notice that, as it’s hosted on a .com domain). You can connect to it via an SSL encrypted connection. The account is yours absolutely free and without obligation while you remain a subscriber. If you are not yet a subscriber, simply sign up now.

Please email our contact office in London to get your free secure e-mail account set up. In your e-mail be sure to state your preferred user name (this will become your secure e-mail address) and an initial password. As soon as the account is set up, you will be able to log in to the control panel and change your password.

It’s worth pointing out the difference between this account and your regular free e-mail account. The main difference is that this account is accessible not only via SSL encrypted webmail, but also by secure IMAP and POP. You can also send messages from your favorite e-mail software without revealing the IP address you are connected from.

Shortly, our colleagues will be offering a suite of premium communication services, such as encrypted Voice over IP (VOIP) or the possibility to host your own domain on our offshore secure servers.You will also have a chance to go ” Beyond Encryption” with a secure USB advice that routes your communications entirely via a private, encrypted offshore server. For more on this, watch this space.

If you would like to read more about IT privacy and security, we also recommend our Secure Communications page.

Asset protection strategies and products offered by international banks in the various offshore tax havens around the globe don’t differ that much in substance. However, there are some interesting and powerful products you might come across in the offshore banking arena that are very different from what your domestic bank offers.

Here are five privacy-oriented offshore banking services that you might be able to achieve to further your freedom, wealth and privacy!
1. Offshore Safe Deposit Boxes

A safe deposit box is a locked box reserved for you in the vault of your bank. In your safe deposit box you might keep documents such as physical stocks or bonds, or for small, high value goods that they want to keep safe… like valuable coins, jewelry or maybe even a stash of federal reserve notes! You might keep these items for pure investment purposes – say gold bullion or uncut rough diamonds – or for more sentimental reasons (your great-grandmother’s wedding ring).

Increasingly, non-bank safe deposit facilities are becoming available. These are good because they are not reportable financial accounts – you don’t have to tell the tax man about them. Our contact in Panama reports a new safe deposit facility opening there, for example. Others, for example in Austria and in the Caribbean, are identified and reviewed in our free (to registered members) report How to Buy and Hide Gold Bullion Offshore.
2. Multi-Currency Accounts vs. Multiple Currency Accounts

Multi-currency accounts are quite common in offshore banks. These are very flexible since they permit you to keep many different currencies under the same account number. When you log in to the internet banking interface of your offshore bank account,  you will see different balances… X amount of US dollars, Y amount of Euros, Z of Yen etc.

Other banks also allow you to hold balances in different currencies, but allocate you a different account number for each currency. The end result is basically the same, but you will have a series of account numbers and you must take care not to confuse them. For example, if you send Yen to the Canadian dollar account number, the bank will assume you want to convert that balance to CAD and will do so automatically.

3. Precious Metals Storage

Some offshore banks offer a basic service where you can buy gold and simply store it in your safe deposit box. This certainly works, but may not be the most practical way of handling it. Why? Because each time you want to buy or sell, you have to visit the bank personally. Only you have access to your box.

There are various other practical ways of buying gold such as Perth Mint Certificates or Exchange Traded Funds, but the security of such investments in the current financial climate is debatable (see our article on Offshore Precious Metals Investments).

But in terms of offshore banking products (and this is especially common in Swiss banks) it’s important to understand the difference between allocated storage, and unallocated – also known as pooled storage. Both these systems are used by private offshore banks. If you would like to read more about them, read our free (to members) Gold Report for a detailed explanation.

4. Numbered Accounts

We’ve all seen James Bond movies, but what might surprise you is that many European private banks still offer numbered accounts today, simply for the asking. Numbered accounts (or pseudonymous accounts, which are the same but are known by code words instead of numbers) work just like any other offshore bank account.  The  difference is the the link between the code number or pseudonym and the actual customer is known only to a few senior managers within the bank. Of course, KYC regulations mean that a final beneficiary must always be identified. But at least this system protects your information from the hands of low level bank staff.

Typically the way numbered accounts work these days is that you will have a numbered account and a regular account in the same bank. Numbered accounts cannot normally be used for regular transactions such as wire transfers. So when you want to make a deposit or withdrawal, your private banker will personally carry out a cash transaction at the counter between the two accounts. In the accounting records, the transaction will appear on your personal account as a cash deposit or withdrawal, so there will be no direct link to your numbered account.
5.  Offshore Credit and Debit Cards

Almost all offshore banks will offer you the option of linking some kind of plastic payment card to your account. This may be anything from an unbranded hole-in-the-wall cash card through to a premium travel and entertainment card like the Platinum American Express or Diners Club cards. The most common brands, of course, are Visa and MasterCard… but there are far more variations on these cards than there are banks in the world! You offshore private banker will be happy to explain the range of cards available.

What your banker will not explain, however, is that you may well be able to enhance your privacy by obtaining a card from a completely different bank. For that information, you need to download and read our free (to registered members) Practical Offshore Banking Guide. There you will find specific information on prepaid credit cards and anonymous cash cards available from offshore banks.

Want to read more about these five services, plus other offshore banking services you might never have even heard of? Then you need to be a member of Q Wealth Report. The first step is to sign up now for our free five part course, Secrets of the Super Rich. Module one of the course, entitled Offshore Banking Made Simple, could be in your inbox shortly!

Everyone once in a while during life you discover something new and genuine that is truly a surprise. This week was just one of those experiences and I would like to share it with you.

A long time member of The Q Wealth Report is an entrepreneur who has an amazing company that enhances your personal safety and security. He will remain nameless unless he chooses to reveal his identity to us. Though apparently, some of you have already met him!

Before I tell you more, here’s the background.  When you log on to the Internet, you do so via an ISP, an Internet Service Provider, whose servers monitor and record all you do – every email, chat, Web page, everything.

And if the police or Feds tell your ISP they need to see your record of your online activity, the ISP must provide it.  Nervous yet?

It gets worse.  A recent Federal Court ruling declares that you have no right to keep your “Internet identity” private.  Your computer has a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address that identifies it – and the ruling provides an Open Sesame for anyone to track it.

You leave tracks of yourself everywhere you go on the Net – and you would be amazed at how information-mining techniques can piece it together and find out all about you.

The solution is to anonymize yourself and your computer by using a VPN – a Virtual Private Network.   It acts as a “proxy” between your ISP and the Net – all your ISP records is that you go to the VPN and can’t see beyond it, while all any Web site sees is the IP of the VPN and not yours.  You can surf the Net in complete privacy.

But there’s a big problem:  there are lots of VPN’s around the globe and many are run by criminals to extract data they should be protecting!

Which brings us to our anonymous Q Wealth member – for after all, anonymity is the name of this game, right? – and his company:  Cryptohippie. It is a rather unusual name that matches its unusual capabilities.

Cryptohippie is a VPN you can trust.  It’s also the best.

Their technical specialist was responsible for setting up security for some of the most secure offshore banks in the world. Imagine what two European countries who protect and guard their clients assets and information the most. One countries name begins with an L and the other an S.

Here is what Cryptohippie can do for you. It protects you and your freedom with privacy. Once a member, you log on to a secure web authentication server that immediately transports your browsing journey onto ultra-fast, secure routers spread around the globe.

Sophisticated algorithms encrypts your data immediately and seamlessly. So as you sign onto your regular ISP as normal, a private tunnel is created for your information and data to pass.

Your information is thus anonymized by Cryptohippie as it communicates with Google, Yahoo, Amazon and anywhere else.

Your IP identifying information is replaced with Cryptohippie’s information so Amazon or anyone else will not know it is you or where you came from, unless you purchase something from them. At that point your identity will be revealed to the retailer; however, they will still not know how you got there, or where you are signing in.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that they also have a secure email package that is part of their Roadwarrior package. The basic three tiers of products currently offered are Roadwarrior for telecommuters and mobile folks.

Enterprise packages are for corporations and businesses that need a larger scale and dedicated hardware versus the individual Roadwarrior account.

Their Servers are what is called LAS (Location Agnostic Servers).  These servers are the best protection against theft, and are very tenacious in their ability to thwart intrusive attacks. Several of these highly successful LAS nodes spread around the globe provides a unique level of protection.

The nodes are scattered through Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and there is a node in Panama.  Important note:  They are not in the US, where the Feds could get at them.

Offline encrypted storage is also available. If you prefer and request, your data can be totally anonymous, even from their employees.  I have been personally been using Cryptohippie, and am extremely impressed by the services offered.

There are some exciting new products coming soon from Cryptohippie that I cannot discuss at this time, but I can assure you they are of equal caliber to their existing products.

Why do we need such protection you might ask?  Let’s put it this way: sending an email is as private as post-card.

The crux of the matter is that you must define your own security and be responsible for your own safety.

Seek knowledge without surveillance!

This article was contributed by Anonymous to The Q Wealth Offshore Banking Blog

Here’s another reason why your gold bullion bars and gold/silver coins held for investment purposes should always be under your control – preferably in a foreign safe deposit box, in a reputable institution, to which you and only you have access!

On Monday, a bankruptcy judge  allowed Sovereign Bank to continue the seizure of valuable coins from Tampa’s National Gold Exchange, effectively shutting down what has been one of the world’s largest gold and silver coin wholesalers. NGE was seen as a solid, respectable outfit and was used by a number of people of our acquaintance.

National Gold Exchange sought bankruptcy court protection last Friday. According to reports in the St Petersburg Times, Sovereign Bank alleged fraud the owners of the business, claiming in court that NGE employees had been smuggling boxes of rare coins out the back door of the business to evade creditors. Judge Michael Williamson is quoted as calling the case potentially “serious and troublesome.” NGE were over extended and had been bouncing checks while the owner, who set up the business as a teenager during the 1970s and has made many millions from the coin investment business, continued with multi-million dollar real estate projects.

It’s not yet clear whether any private investors have been affected by this case, but what we do know is that coin dealers typically offer secure storage and safekeeping services as well as consignment for their larger clients. It is therefore likely that private individuals’ coin investments have been prejudiced.

Rare coins have, in our opinion, proven over years to be an excellent hedge against crisis, besides offering numerous advantages to privacy seekers. Unlike gold bullion coins which are priced based on the gold spot price plus or minus a thin spread, rare coins have traditionally been seen as a longer term investment.Basically gold investors either love or hate rare coins. Some people swear by them, while other investors prefer to stick with bullion which is much simpler to price, manage and liquidate.

Whatever view you might take, rare gold and silver coins are definitely a worthy part of an offshore hedging portfolio, but the story above serves as a cautionary tale. Do not just wire money to the dealer and leave your coins in their safe. Despite the inconvenience, it’s better to take physical delivery of any gold – whether coins or bullion – and keep it securely in a safe deposit box.

If you need further information and tips, you’ll find safe deposit recommendations for both Europe (Austria for example) and the Caribbean region in The Gold Report. This report in pdf format by offshore banking expert Peter Macfarlane provides valuable solutions for diversifying your portfolio out of the dollar or euro. You can view sample extracts here, while the report itself  is available free for instant download to Q Wealth Report members. If you are not yet a member, sign up now to gain instant access.

By Paul Voosen, Staff Writer, The Prague Post

While the Finance Ministry drafts a new moneylaundering bill, 2.7 Million secret passbooks are still in circulation.

In an effort to close one loophole that money launderers use to hide ill-gotten gains, the Czech Republic passed a law nearly five years ago calling for the conversion of all the country’s anonymous deposit passbooks into registered accounts.

The anonymous accounts got their start during the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, since they left no recorded identity with the banks, were often used to move money without a trail.

“Anyone who held an [anonymous] passbook was perceived by the bank to be the owner of the account and could withdraw all of the account’s deposits,” said Jirí S¢korvaga, a member of the board of Ceská sporitelna, which holds all of the country’s passbook accounts.

Years after the frenetic process that saw most of the country’s accounts converted, officials at Ceská sporitelna and the Finance Ministry have questioned the necessity of converting the remaining passbook accounts, as some 4.1 billion Kc ($190 million) left in 2.7 million accounts sits unclaimed.

The decision to abolish the accounts was made on the recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets international standards for stopping money laundering, Finance Ministry spokesman Jaroslav Ru¢zek said.

But the benefits of this decision are not unambiguous.

“The money held in these accounts, in practicality, could not have been misused for money laundering,” Ru¢zek said. Yes, it’s true that they could be used by anyone to withdraw money from an account, but the “important fact is that they could not have been used for credit or cashless wire transfers,” making any movement of the money a much more physical process.

S¢ korvaga allows for the concerns the European Union and FATF had about the anonymous passbooks, but also adds: “We never had a single case proving this assumption.”

Long tradition

Passbooks date to the 19th century, when they were the first deposit product broadly used by the public; new accounts would often be opened for birthdays or other special events. Under communism, the passbooks were one of the few options for saving money, and afterward remained popular for their security, ease of use and simplicity, S¢ korvaga said.

While 90 percent of the bank’s passbook accounts – 6.6 million in 2002 – were anonymous, registered versions of passbooks also exist and are still frequently opened in the country.

Prior to the bank’s 2002 advertising blitz, most of its customers were not aware that they had an anonymous passbook, S¢korvaga said. The books always had a blank line on their first page for a name, and nearly everyone with a book filled the line out with their first and last names.

“This despite the fact that the line was completely optional and could be filled out with anything from ‘My beloved granddaughter’ to ‘Mickey Mouse, ” he said.

In 2002, Ceská sporitelna had 120 billion Kc deposited in these accounts, a number that dropped 100 billion by the end of the year, after a campaign by the bank warning customers that their accounts would no longer earn interest and could not receive deposits.

The conversion of its passbook accounts cost Ceská sporitelna about 150 million Kc and lowered the bank’s profitability, as many of its customers migrated to accounts that brought them more interest or value, S¢ korvaga said.

“This net interest margin lost from our converted accounts far balanced any gain we had from paying no interest on remaining accounts,” he said.

Of course, the bank still holds over 4 billion Kc in savings accounts that it can continue to use for profit without paying interest, and Czech law states that if this money is not withdrawn by 2012, it will be forfeited to the bank.

Despite this possibility, S¢ korvaga says the bank will continue to honor withdrawal requests from anonymous passbook accounts after 2012, whatever the reason customers have been delayed in converting them – old age, forgetfulness or sheer torpidity.

“It’s our long-term standard,” he said. “Our clients will not lose money with us, no matter how long they did not access the account.”

Rinse cycle

While there is no estimate as to how well the Czech Republic is combating money laundering, it can be assumed that since the country has followed every recommendation given to it by the FATF and the EU, the volume of laundered money is in decline, Ru¢zek said.

The Finance Ministry is now drafting a new comprehensive bill on money laundering that is set to replace the country’s frequently amended 1996 law.

The new bill is needed to bring the country into accord with a new set of financial dictates from the EU.

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