It's too boring to be a troll...
This (or the boring-est troll in the history of the intertubes)
Topic: Bitcoin FBI Report April 2012 - page 6. (Read 14393 times)
This (or the boring-est troll in the history of the intertubes)
I have read enough (U//FOUO) documents in my time, and this one fits right in. The tone, the balance, and the constant declaration of "confidence" in a given statement is consistent with legitimate reports. The crappy resolution is completely irrelevant, as the document was probably scanned or modified in some way to hide any information that could trace it back to the person who leaked it.
I'm impressed with the balance of the report. I'm disappointed it doesn't mention any more about the legitimate uses of Bitcoin, but it is an organization devoted to fighting crime. I can forgive them for that...
By the way, do you really think a troll would spend the time creating 4 pages of endnotes? Plus, there's nothing really groundbreaking or sensational in the report that would justify spending weeks putting this together as a sham. It's too boring to be a troll...
I'm impressed with the balance of the report. I'm disappointed it doesn't mention any more about the legitimate uses of Bitcoin, but it is an organization devoted to fighting crime. I can forgive them for that...
By the way, do you really think a troll would spend the time creating 4 pages of endnotes? Plus, there's nothing really groundbreaking or sensational in the report that would justify spending weeks putting this together as a sham. It's too boring to be a troll...
Nice find and I agree although not 100% certain it probably is legit. The language, tone, and structure is consistent with govt bureaucratic reports. I read enough of those working for the DOD. So either it a very comprehensive and yet at the same time pointless troll (what is the point? there is no alarmist rhetoric or call to action) or it is a legit leak. As for a leak being impossible? Um has nobody heard of wikileaks? None of those docs were intended for public release. Maybe it was an act of civil disobediance by a FBI analyst who also sees the value in Bitcoin? Also don't count out a counter-insurgency type move. The leak could be intentional by the FBI. A way to point out to potential investors and businesses that Bitcoin is on the FBI radar to keep it marginalized.
One thing that sucks is that it is an image scrape. Anyone really good with OCR? I would be willing to put some coins towards a bounty to convert the doc into machine readable format (txt or otherwise). It would be a tricky conversion (the low res blurred image doesn't help) so it may not be possible but maybe we got some OCR wizards.
One thing that sucks is that it is an image scrape. Anyone really good with OCR? I would be willing to put some coins towards a bounty to convert the doc into machine readable format (txt or otherwise). It would be a tricky conversion (the low res blurred image doesn't help) so it may not be possible but maybe we got some OCR wizards.
Quote from: julz link=topic=80114.msg888025#msg888025
Your skepticism is a little too strident however.
+1 He sounds very afraid, I wonder why?Because he wanted a signed affidavit from the leaker to make himself feel important because he would protect him under the freedom of the press laws for unpublished magazines on the UK...
Or he's just mad because being a magazine(?) editor he should be the one to score the scoops, yet he has none to show on his magazine(?) even after 5 months of publishing delay
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Anyone with a level head would read this and notice the glaring lack of research and round-about way it talks about bitcoin using explanations only bitcoiners use. It screams fake.
Exactly! It's the 21st century. They totally release a fake fake document to "crowd-source" their research. 
Lol +1
The bitcoin logo on the front is strange as well. With all the time put into research why would they take the time to include some unnecessary picture on the front.
Maybe they need to do something to keep their job interesting? I'm sure all the white covers get boring after time, so a cool picture might impress their boss?
I'm still on the fence on whether it's fake or not (haven't read it yet)...
The bitcoin logo on the front is strange as well. With all the time put into research why would they take the time to include some unnecessary picture on the front.
I do however find the 'bitcoinadvertisers.com' in the metadata of the scribd posting suspicious.
Matthew is right to point this out.
OP - care to clarify?
edit: It's not clear to me whether this indicates anything to do with who posted the doc to scribd - or if it's just scribd software matching keywords to post the bitcoinadvertisers.com ad in the sidebar.
edit2: oh.. though it seems 'tradebitcoin' uploaded the doc. Well that is pretty sus.
Matthew is right to point this out.
OP - care to clarify?
edit: It's not clear to me whether this indicates anything to do with who posted the doc to scribd - or if it's just scribd software matching keywords to post the bitcoinadvertisers.com ad in the sidebar.
edit2: oh.. though it seems 'tradebitcoin' uploaded the doc. Well that is pretty sus.
I'd be surprised if this type of document did not exist.
Quote from: julz link=topic=80114.msg888025#msg888025
Your skepticism is a little too strident however.
+1 He sounds very afraid, I wonder why? ...
The very fact that a document in 2008 looked similiar should be proof enough considering the FBI doesn't keep the same style of letterheads for 4 years.
...
The very fact that a document in 2008 looked similiar should be proof enough considering the FBI doesn't keep the same style of letterheads for 4 years.
...
Sure they do.
From 2004: http://wlstorage.net/file/fbi-ecoterrorism-tactics-2004.pdf
(http://wikileaks.org/wiki/FBI:_Tactics_Used_by_Eco-Terrorists_to_Detect_and_Thwart_Law_Enforcement_Operations,_15_Apr_2004 )
Healthy skepticism is warranted - you're right that the April 2012 document is currently lacking any other source to back it up.
Your skepticism is a little too strident however.
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Anyone with a level head would read this and notice the glaring lack of research and round-about way it talks about bitcoin using explanations only bitcoiners use. It screams fake. Everything down to the style it's made in. The very fact that a document in 2008 looked similiar should be proof enough considering the FBI doesn't keep the same style of letterheads for 4 years.
Look at how they talk about Silk Road research. Look at how it sounds like a fanboy masturbating to himself while he pretends to be a cop. FBI doesn't talk like this. FBI doesn't care. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's an elaborate troll to present some kind of legitimacy of Bitcoin so that the price changes.
There are no sources for this document, no trail, etc. It is not recognized by anyone other than a dude on a forum someplace? Give me a break. Have the person who actually retrieved this file swear an affidavit and we'll protect them through freedom of the press laws in the UK. Anything else is just a bunch of nonsense and I'm disappointed to see such a large group of people falling for it. I thought you guys were smarter than this.
Look at how they talk about Silk Road research. Look at how it sounds like a fanboy masturbating to himself while he pretends to be a cop. FBI doesn't talk like this. FBI doesn't care. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's an elaborate troll to present some kind of legitimacy of Bitcoin so that the price changes.
There are no sources for this document, no trail, etc. It is not recognized by anyone other than a dude on a forum someplace? Give me a break. Have the person who actually retrieved this file swear an affidavit and we'll protect them through freedom of the press laws in the UK. Anything else is just a bunch of nonsense and I'm disappointed to see such a large group of people falling for it. I thought you guys were smarter than this.
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= fail!
As for the content of that doc, it actually seems kind-of bearish for Bitcoin. I tried really hard, but couldn't find any errors for them to fix.
I'm sorry, MNW, this damning report seems pretty legit to me.
I find it funny how he even confused reports that the FBI publishes to the general public with Unclassified/For Official Use Only reports...
The PDF of the report is available from this thread on another forum -- a straight download (click the link: Download in pdf format).
- http://www.bitcointrading.com/forum/index.php?topic=525.0
- http://www.bitcointrading.com/forum/index.php?topic=525.0
For what it's worth - this wouldn't be the first FBI intelligence report to be leaked:
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/FBI:_White_Supremacist_Recruitment_of_Military_Personnel_2008
http://documents.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/FBI_WHITE_SUPREMACY-2008-ocr.pdf (note the similar design)
I still classify this document as extremely plausible.
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/FBI:_White_Supremacist_Recruitment_of_Military_Personnel_2008
http://documents.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/FBI_WHITE_SUPREMACY-2008-ocr.pdf (note the similar design)
I still classify this document as extremely plausible.
I believe it's legit, unironically. It's done diligently enough, and would be too much work for a troll. Also no hidden hints of "other origin" detected.
Look at the horrible quality (not the image quality, the horrible design). Since when does the FBI release private information like this, much less in such a horrible design? This is a 12 year old's copypasta in Word.
Why do you criticize the design? You're coming to conclusions without even reading the entire document-- you replied 6 mins after ops post. You're the one who's trolling.
I think the doc is a fair assessment. It seems legitimate. The Third-Party Bitcoin Services section on page 8 is especially interesting. Exchange services (in the US) must register with FinCEN. Is Bitinstant the only one registered?
... What a fail community. ...
Too bad the community didn't fail you when you came here 5 months ago asking for money in exchange for a magazine that still doesn't exist.
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You guys crack me up. You're already referencing it as "the FBI report". What a fail community. Excuse me while I go make another FBI report.
"Oops! it leaked! What do you guys think? Ignore the links to Bitcoin Magazine on the poster's status. I don't know how that got there"
"Oops! it leaked! What do you guys think? Ignore the links to Bitcoin Magazine on the poster's status. I don't know how that got there"
Well, it contains most factually accurate information about Bitcoin (in fact, probably the most factually accurate information in a single report - the only glaring error is the statement (on page 14) that bitcoins will cease to be generated in 2033, clearly based on a misinterpretation of the famous money-supply graph) presented sensibly from a law-enforcement perspective, so I'd say it's likely to be genuine. It strongly implies that the FBI don't see Bitcoin itself as the problem, but rather the illegal activities that involve Bitcoin and are potentially made easier by it (which is exactly the sort of reasonable approach that (all jokes aside) one would expect from the FBI).
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