The dollar exchange rate on the black market is much more attractive than in official exchange offices and banks. The presence of this system allows people to make profitable sales and purchases of currency. But is everything so simple and what should you pay attention to?
What is the black market for?
The illegal market is a long-established scheme where you can make attractive purchases and sales of both the dollar and other currencies. Compared to the illegal market, the rate in official banks is much higher, so you will have to pay a significant amount to make a purchase. When it comes to selling, an unofficial transaction can fetch a lot more foreign money.
The main advantages of the illegal market are:
- unlimited purchase and sale;
- high selling price, minimum purchase;
- possibility of exchanging any currency (euro, rubles, hryvnia, dollars).
Unfortunately, many banks have restrictions on the purchase of dollars. And on the black market or with money changers, you can exchange any amount of money, the main thing is that the person has it in stock. This is the only way to buy dollars without restrictions and without the participation of several people. In many cases, this exchange option is the most acceptable and the only one. In particular, if a person plans to purchase an apartment, but it is not possible to exchange all his savings into dollars in one bank transaction.
As for the sale of currency, the situation here is even more attractive, because the official price in banks is lower than that of money changers. Selling a small amount will not affect a person's overall income. If the savings are impressive, preference is always given to currency traders. This is not only profitable, but also profitable.
Previously, the black market was not particularly popular; at the moment, almost 80% of the population not only in Russia, but also in all CIS countries resort to its help.
How to get into the black market and its pricing policy
The rate offered by currency traders is much more favorable than at official exchange offices. This information has been mentioned several times above. How much more profitable is the value of the dollar from the money changers, and should you trust them? To do this, you need to understand current exchange rates.
Sales at an official Russian bank are 65-66 rubles per dollar. For $1000 a person will receive approximately 6500-6600 rubles. If you turn to currency traders with such a proposal, the result of such an operation will be 6700-6900 rubles. By exchanging one thousand dollars, a person receives 200-300 rubles of net profit. With an impressive amount, the pleasant bonus can be significantly higher.
As for the purchase, the situation here is almost the same, so it also has its advantages. If you need to purchase $1000, you will have to shell out approximately 6700-6800 rubles. If you carry out this operation from currency traders, then on average they will not take more than 6,500 rubles. Which again saves the budget. From this point of view, the black market is certainly in the lead.
Having analyzed the price from money changers and official sources, most people prefer the first exchange option. But in this situation you need to be careful. If problems arise with the exchange, fraud or receipt of counterfeit bills, it is almost impossible to achieve justice.
Competent law enforcement agencies will not help in this matter. After all, using the “services” of currency traders is punishable by law. By complaining about the offender, a previously law-abiding citizen may be subject to a fine, including confiscation of all currency valuables.
Unfortunately, many participants in the black market both in Russia and other CIS countries have everything covered. Therefore, any complaint is of no value. On the contrary, an ordinary person who decides to buy and sell on the black market can suffer even more in this situation.
There is one thing that is even older than the oldest of all professions, and it is human cunning. People have always tried to circumvent all sorts of laws and restrictions, which is why, over time, the concept of the black market was born. Black markets carry out all types of trade that are prohibited by law. This is also called the second economy market, as well as the shadow market.
Despite being illegal, such illegal platforms are thriving these days. We do not encourage you to take a grocery basket and go buy illegal goods, but we only want to tell you what the work of black markets is based on.
1. How black markets work
Of course, any transaction is very dangerous for both the seller and the buyer. For this reason, finding the right person is very difficult - specific connections and acquaintances are required.
How difficult is it to find a place and a person who will introduce you to the underworld of illicit goods? Depends on how serious the product you are going to purchase. Finding a seller of prohibited animals is relatively easy, but buying a rare stolen antique item will not be so easy. Today in China there is a whole market for counterfeit products, which many people know about, and despite this, it functions quietly.
2. What kind of people work in black markets?
You may have a stereotype that every black market seller is a bandit with a scar covering half his face, but that's not quite the case. These activities involve people of different social classes, races and continents. Drug dealers, prostitutes, human and weapons dealers, mafia members and simple businessmen who are trying to sell stolen goods.
Often these are people who consider themselves businessmen, willing to take risks to make more money. And other sellers consider themselves art experts, because they can offer rare paintings that cannot be found in any museum. All you have to do is agree on the price.
3. What is sold on the black market
As you understand, you can buy absolutely everything on this trading platform. Things such as drugs, weapons, and the slave trade immediately come to mind, but this is not all, but only one part of the illegal segment. Horns, animal skins, as well as animals listed in the Red Book are popular. Unfortunately, there are more creepy products, such as human organs. Having money, today you can even buy them. The most ordinary, but expensive items are also in demand.
These products are so popular because the purchase is not subject to taxes and fees, and in the future the buyer will not be asked where he purchased a specific product, because this purchase is not reflected in any documents.
4. What services are provided on the black market
Of course, prostitution and trade of various kinds are far from the only services on the black market. Corruption and many shadow economic schemes flourish here.
It works like this: a well-connected person brings together interested parties who come to an agreement with each other. One party transfers a certain amount to the other, for example, for patronage in a matter he needs. Plus, many sales and purchase transactions are carried out here, which, if formalized, would be subject to tax. No government regulation and complete lawlessness - this is exactly what dishonest businessmen are looking for.
5. The main reasons for the formation of black markets
The first reason is the state tax system. Many people, trying to avoid paying taxes, resort to shady schemes to save their money. The second reason is the shortage of goods, and they do not necessarily have to be illegal. Remember even the times of the USSR, when store shelves were empty and everything had to be taken out from under the counter. And, of course, the specificity of some goods that are prohibited from production and sale throughout the world. They can only be obtained on the black market.
6. How the black market appeared
It is very difficult to tell how it came about, because both sellers and buyers are trying with all their might to keep their identity secret. But it is known that the first illegal markets began to appear in China, and they offered exactly the same products that can be found from regular sellers, but at a lower price. Competition was the reason here. In Europe, the formation of illicit markets occurred around 1315 due to a great famine. People speculated in grain, the sale of which was strictly limited and prohibited.
7. In what form do black markets exist today?
Of course, this is not a classic bazaar, where you are offered a wide variety of illegal goods to choose from. Today, most transactions take place on the Internet using various web technologies that hide the identity and location of the user. Many of these sites use technology that is named after the god of thunder and son of Odin, you get the idea. This provides businessmen with security and quiet work, if you can call it that.
8. Scale
It is very difficult to estimate the size of the black market due to its secrecy and inaccessibility. It is almost impossible to collect accurate data, but it is known that its profitability can compete with the economies of many countries. If you are interested in numbers, albeit approximate ones, then the annual turnover is about 10 trillion dollars. A very significant amount, don’t you think?
9. Is it possible to overcome the black market?
The problem is that there will always be a demand for the services and products provided that the black market offers. And complete anonymity makes this task even more difficult. Of course, operational work is underway to find sellers and buyers, but due to the fact that illegal activities move onto the World Wide Web and lose some of their physical component, this task becomes more and more difficult from year to year.
10. How the global economy affects black markets
Exactly the same as for legal ones. Before the development of the global world economy, which connected continents and countries, black markets were local and satisfied the demand of a specific region. Today, with the development of connections, globalization and the widespread introduction of the Internet, this phenomenon has become global. Many sellers make their services and products extremely attractive due to their availability and the ability to ship anywhere. This dubious customer focus attracts more and more buyers.
11. Who suffers from black markets
Such activities, in addition to being illegal, bring a lot of suffering to people, especially those who are commodities in the illicit market. Slave trade, prostitution - today about 2.5 million people are commodities that are bought and sold.
Women are forced into prostitution, and even in those countries where it is legalized, there are special, forbidden, perverted forms of this craft, which few people will agree to of their own free will. Men are sold as slaves, labor, but who knows what will be on the mind of the next crazy client?
12. Can the black market system help anyone?
Oddly enough, yes. In many third world countries, the underground economy is the main way of existence for many people. Due to the fact that transactions made outside the law are not subject to tax, many people choose to sell their legal goods in a less legal way. The goods include food, daily necessities - everything that is necessary for life, but at a reasonable price.
13. Is it possible to prevent the formation of black markets?
Illegal markets thrive in contexts where the population does not have access to a wide range of goods and the government is unwilling to provide them. The more products available at a normal price, the fewer chances that a large-scale black market will be formed in a particular state. In other words, the better developed the state’s economy, the less likely it is that a black market will be created and organized within its borders.
The economic policy of the state is also important, because where people are pressured by taxes, prices for goods rise, and wages remain at the same level, people simply have no choice. They have to find various goods cheaper, and they are mostly illegal because they are not taxed. But will this worry the head of the family, who can barely make ends meet?
14. How do people feel about this phenomenon?
It all depends on the sale of specific goods and services provided. If we are talking about drugs, weapons, trafficking in people, animals, then these activities will be condemned. But if general goods or scarce products are sold there, then people are unlikely to be against the existence of such a shadow market. For example, in America, during Prohibition, alcohol became unaffordable, and its production was mainly controlled by criminal gangs, so many citizens, although they did not support the mafia, committed a crime by buying alcohol on the black market. Once again, demand created supply, and shortages created a new black market.
The World Wide Web is perfect for trading in conditions where both the seller and the buyer do not want to advertise the fact of the transaction. Simply put, when they buy something prohibited, but pay in such a way that no one knows - with bitcoins and other virtual currencies. And then an enterprising buyer can purchase...
Any passport
The average price for a document on citizenship of any state is $1,000. And the quality of the fake is high enough to pass most inspections.
Hair
The same natural material from which wigs are made. The benefit is that they buy hair from poor residents of Southeast Asia and India at bargain prices, and sell it at a large markup, but still cheaper than in professional salons.
Weapon
Anything, with the exception of large-capacity warships, strategic bombers and ballistic missiles. But buying an air defense system, a military helicopter or a batch of grenade launchers for an entire regiment is not impossible. Most weapons come from official suppliers, you just get rid of the shackles of bureaucracy and local laws.
It is completely legal entertainment when beautiful girls draw on their breasts whatever the client wishes. This is difficult to qualify as some kind of violation, but it can be used for viral advertising.
Credit cards and other plastic cards
Someone sells real stolen cards, often in bulk, and there is no guarantee that they are not blocked. But it's cheap and anonymous. Others trade in data theft and may offer you a card number, but not the card itself - this is enough to register in online services.
Slaves
At least a concubine, at least a wife, at least a servant. No one asks powerless slaves if they want to go to the other side of the world to serve whoever pays. True, in most countries, a new slave owner will definitely have problems with the law if the slave manages to report herself to the authorities. Therefore, this kind of product is more popular where bribes can be used to resolve any issues.
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Breast milk
It is rarely purchased for the main purpose; for this it is easier to contact special medical centers. However, many shamans and sorcerers consider such a product to be a good ingredient for potions, and therefore there is a demand for breast milk.
Rhino horns, mammoth tusks, hippopotamus teeth
A raw material that is extremely important for the vast alchemical industry of the East, poachers mercilessly exterminate animals for their horns. The situation with ancient bones is somewhat different - due to loopholes in Russian legislation, mammoth tusks cannot be officially mined. This means that what you have accumulated can only be sold on the black market.
Sperm
Yes, they sell and buy, along with other organs and samples of human bodies. Biomedical technologies are far from being as “clean” as it might seem from the outside; smuggling is indispensable.
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Souls of dead children
I don’t really want to find out who might need such a product and why, but there is a demand. And, probably, there are also methods for quality control. Although it is difficult to imagine how this is done.
Killer services
And not only them, but also the perpetrators of practically all types of crimes. Crime is too in demand for police efforts to fill this niche.
Drugs
Of course, drugs of all stripes and all colors of the rainbow. The situation is exactly the same with other prohibited substances - pay and you can get whatever you want.
Where there are some permissions, there are also prohibitions, and prohibitions always cause a desire to circumvent them. One of the integral parts of the economy is the black market. What it is, whether it has any advantages for the country and individual citizens, and how participants in such trade are punished will be analyzed in this article.
What is the black market and how is it formed?
When there are restrictions or a strict ban on the trade of any product, there are always people who want to get it.
There is a demand - there is also a supply, this is how the black market is born. People who can get the product they are looking for offer it to others in various ways and make a profit for it. It should be noted that in black it is much more profitable than legally, both for the seller and the buyer. First, the seller sets the price himself, regardless of antitrust laws and regulations dictated by the market. If this is a special product, then it may not have competition, and therefore the prices are simply astronomical. For the buyer, transactions on the black market are profitable because the price of the product excludes taxes and government fees, which somewhat reduces the cost. Secondly, on the black market you can get anything that may be prohibited by the laws of the state or society, from drugs to human organs.
Who controls the black market
In addition to the participants, the black market is its organizers. Typically, goods sold on the black market are associated with smuggling - where else, for example, do weapons or drugs in circulation come from? It is not difficult to guess that organized crime controls the black market.
The very rights to the goods occur through very complex connections between buyers and intermediaries or sellers, and this is not surprising, because all participants in illegal transactions become objects of persecution by regulatory government agencies.
What can you buy on the black market?
In addition to absolutely harmless ones prohibited by the state for one reason or another, people and ammunition can be purchased on the black market. Examples of such markets:
1. Alcohol. Despite the fact that the “flammable liquid” is legal for sale in most countries, for residents of those places where alcohol operates, alcohol is only available on black markets. Today these are Muslim states, where even possession of alcohol is grounds for imprisonment.
2. Black market for weapons. According to official data, the legal sale of weapons significantly exceeds the turnover of weapons and ammunition on the black market. And yet, such a market has been operating since the eighties of the last century.
3. Trade in stolen antiques and works of art. Occurs mainly through online auctions and is carefully monitored by regulatory authorities in order to bring both the seller and the possible buyer to justice.
4. Rare species of reptiles, birds and animals, sale of smuggled black and red caviar. In addition to the fact that these crimes are immoral, participants in such trade can go to prison for a term of 3 years.
5. Selling people - slave trade. One of the most serious crimes that exist. Some countries impose the death penalty for the slave trade.
6. Prostitution, sale of sexual services.
7. Sale of erotic materials and porn products where prohibited.
8. Sale of human organs for operations (clonegery). Most often, donors are completely ordinary people and children who become targets of abduction.
9. Selling fake documentation. Prosecuted by law in any country, the prison term is from 3 years.
10. Sale of narcotic substances. The law punishes not only sellers, but also buyers.
11. Sale of software for hacking computer programs.
If trade turnover is illegal, then purchase and sale transactions are carried out in a slightly different way, and not in the usual way that is familiar to buyers. During the Soviet Union, when not only alcohol was banned, but even ordinary jeans and other imported products, the “black market” was so widespread that people even began to denote illegal trade: “get it through connections”, “buy from under floors”, “trade from the back door”, “get it from under the counter”.
This was no coincidence, since it was possible to flaunt in fashionable things, buy good equipment, books, foreign sound recordings only underground, through friends, in rented apartments and through dummies, because profiteering was prosecuted and punished by imprisonment.
In addition, the profession of “farmer” was also widespread, that is, a speculator in imported things (“company”). It should be noted that they traded not only genuine goods from abroad, but also consumer goods made with their own hands in the so-called “workshops” in order to make a profit.
How does illegal trade occur today?
Criminal punishment today is carried out in completely different ways than before, although the essence has not changed. Where does the black market operate and how can smuggled goods be found?
The most popular way is to use the Internet. Forums, chats, communities on a topic of interest - everywhere there are both simply curious people and people related to illegal business. In addition, auctions are often held where you can purchase stolen works of art. You just need to know which resource to go to.
Once the potential buyer and seller of the contraband find each other, they can meet on neutral territory, usually with the participation of an intermediary, and complete the transaction.
What is the dark side of the Internet? For the uninitiated, who heard such a term for the first time, it will seem something very mysterious and, perhaps, even frightening. And there is a reason for this. The whole horror is that, contrary to the colorful epithet, the dark side of the Internet is a more than real phenomenon, information about which is recommended to be read only for superficial acquaintance and in no case calls for active use.
What it is?
The dark side of the Internet implies anonymity. That is, this is an opportunity to “surf” the network without leaving traces behind. And although this can be done without any malicious intent, under such conditions many not entirely legal, or rather, completely illegal, things happen. That's why it's the dark side of the Internet.
Why might this be needed?
A network on top of a network is a short description of the darknet. What is hidden in the dark side of the Internet, how to get there - many other nuanced questions are currently becoming relevant. And all because they provide access opportunities to which now (taking into account all kinds of laws against piracy) are becoming more and more numerous.
And, of course, ordinary human curiosity. Sometimes it is precisely this that makes the user go to the other side of the Internet - fortunately, it sounds intriguing and promising. Well, in a sense this is true. But, unfortunately, not in the best way.
Two sides of the coin, or How it was
The Internet is a powerful, uncontrollable element. It plays a significant role in the lives of modern people. It’s not surprising that the authorities of many countries would like to subjugate it - what a means of mind control! Freedom-loving “users” and advanced “hackers,” however, resist with dignity and honor. And so it turned out that it was divided: into a visible part, like sites provided by search engines, and an invisible, dark one, providing anonymity, which implies more freedom and space. But freedom is a dangerous thing, and it can be used in different ways. Most people find it dizzying, and the risk that comes with walking on sharp edges only makes them more nervous. But this is not something to play with.
How to get there?
Let's continue the conversation about what the dark side of the Internet means. there? Well, from the outside everything seems not so complicated: for this they use a special client - that is, a specific browser with which you can access specific sites. This uses .onion domains.
Whenever the dark side of the Internet is mentioned, TOR immediately comes up in conversations. This is the name of that very necessary client. It is not the only one of its kind, but it is the most popular.
How does he work?
Tor forms a chain of encrypted connections: thus, when a user goes to a specific site, he leaves no traces. Anonymity is provided not only to “users” who want to visit resources whose legality is questioned (pirate torrent trackers are the most innocent of them), but also to such sites themselves.
What's the trick?
The question might arise: is it not so invisible, the dark side of the Internet? "Thor" is not such a hidden fact, and there are countless articles on this topic.
You could say the principle of “hidden in plain sight” is at work here. TOR works with so-called onion routing, the network connection of which cannot be traced. The client may be known, as well as the technology, there are also instructions on how to enter the dark side of the Internet. But how to find out who else is using it, whose website offers illegal services or carries out illegal trade - the question is much more complicated.
Underwater rocks
The multi-step, intricate route that Tor offers provides a certain level of anonymity that is necessary for certain users. But, as you know, for every action there is a reaction, and not everything becomes so simple. Surveillance of the user can be carried out using malicious software, in simple terms - viruses, for example, the well-known "Trojans". Such software is implemented directly into the browser and, instead of anonymity, the average “user” receives a “pig in a poke” as a gift from some “hacker” who has made an infected Tor client publicly available.
How to access the onion website?
The first step is to download and install Thor directly. It can be taken from the official website. The download package, in turn, contains everything you need: the client itself for accessing the network, and a proxy server that will “cut out” the “unnecessary” from the traffic, and a program that helps you conveniently manage all this goodness, ensuring anonymity and unhindered surfing the "invisible side of the Web."
Then you can start searching for resources. Beginners are advised to start with hidden Wikipedia, which will redirect the user wherever he wants, and it would be better if this was communication on harmless anonymous forums.
More alternatives
By the way, not only Tor gives access to the “other side”. There is also FreeNet - essentially not a client, but also YaCy (which is a search engine). I2P is also developing rapidly. Now it is she who is the most technically advanced.
I2P has been nicknamed “the ultimate paranoid network” because it has the highest level of anonymity. On the other hand, this also causes the main disadvantage - malfunctions and low speed, which is spent on constant re-encryption and changing tunnels. Strengthened cryptography loads not only the browser, but also the computer processor, through which access to the dark side of the Internet is provided, and this has its own, not rosy, consequences.
Advantages and disadvantages of TOR
The very widespread TOR, on the one hand, provides both anonymity and comfortable surfing, and on the other hand, it is already blocked in many countries. But, actually, it’s for the better.
The essence of building the TOR network
The network is built by volunteers who establish exit points. They provide completely anonymous channels to access sites. Resources on the .onion domain are internal Thor sites, essentially hidden web servers. This is double-level anonymity: on the one hand, the owner of the site cannot be tracked, on the other, neither he (the owner) nor anyone else can track the visitor.
Blocking resources is also very problematic - there are great difficulties in determining the location of the site server.
Network nodes are divided into:
- those through which traffic passes are relays;
- those through which access to the “big” Internet occurs, that is, providing access to blocked sites, for example, pirated torrent trackers, etc. - exit nodes;
- those used in countries where Thor is banned are called "bridges".
Warnings
Anonymity is not called absolute for nothing. There is still a small chance of surveillance. In addition, the possibility of being “discovered” increases if you take rash actions: for example, entering passwords. On the darknet, this is almost the stupidest thing you can do.
The open list of relays also raises concerns. What does this mean? In the world, this means that Tor is completely or partially blocked on many sites on the “light” Internet. Wikipedia, for example, does not allow you to edit articles through it.
Don't jump down the rabbit hole, Alice...
Curiosity, as they say, killed the cat. So before you rush into the pool, and in this particular case, the darknet, you should first read what you can find there.
So, the most popular topics on the other side of the Internet:
- 18+, sex services;
- social networks are also of an intimate nature;
- politics (currently relevant Ukrainian topics);
- trade in illegal means (weapons, drugs, bitcoin currency);
- stolen databases, stolen bank card data;
- closed resources, access to which is blocked even for the majority of darknet users.
Is it worth it?
All of the above topics are not innocent jokes, but real, actively developing crime. It is on the dark side of the Internet that killers freely place their advertisements for services, and the “dark”, or as it is also called, hidden “WikiPedia” provides articles on pedophilia and other perversions for reading - not in purely scientific language, indicating criminal penalties, but in in the form of instructions to help the “beginner”. There is active trade on darknet forums: methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fake passports and government data. Going there is like a "bad area" on the streets. And the worst thing is that all this is real. So, is simple curiosity worth it? Because, ultimately, this is a problem that needs a solution.
