Why does this always get brought up when discussing privacy? Privacy is a right and we should not limit our privacy just because criminals can use it to do what they do. The member above rightly said that cash also allows criminals to do things anonymously but that never gets brought to light.
You are on point. VPNs are available to all. You can find a free VPN service with ease or use a 30 day free trial option and switch to another VPN when the period is over.
The only downside of using a free VPN is that you don't know what they do with their logs. Paid services usually "guarantee" that they won't keep any logs.
Privacy is our right and the possibility if it being used in a bad way should never be used to deny us this right. Like we have the right to free speech and sometimes someone uses this freedom to lie and defame but the right remains and it should always be there.