Topic: Finders keepers? I found an address with 50 BTC via brain wallet! - page 2. (Read 13289 times)
January 18, 2014, 02:08:14 PM
Move the funds to a secure address (if you have found this brainwallet manually, it means it is very vulnerable to automated bruteforcing attacks by hackers) then reveal the passphrase to give an example of how NOT to choose a passphrase.
January 18, 2014, 02:02:30 PM
If your point is to warn the user that their BTC is likely to be stolen then perhaps consider creating a raw tx that sends their funds back to their address (so they can understand that their address is compromised without any loss of funds).
January 18, 2014, 01:53:26 PM
Can't believe you guessed someones passphrase. Stealing the coins would make you a pickpocket. If you found a wallet on the street, 'cause you have a habit of "looking for lost objects", I would hope you would keep the wallet and attempt to contact the owner while keeping his valuables safe. There is a thing called karma if you're inclined to believe in such ideas.
January 18, 2014, 01:25:33 PM
Do nothing.
January 18, 2014, 12:27:12 PM
May I ask how long it took you to find out the passphrase leading to this address? Did you automate this process or did you do it manually?
I wouldn't be sure what to do in such a situation, you can either leave it where it is because it's not actually yours, or you can send it to an address of your own to ensure no one else can steal it, but post the address and the contact details in public in multiple places (bitcointalk.org, reddit.com/r/bitcoin, etc.) so that the owner (if he still has access to to the private key or passphrase) can contact you if he finds out about his missing BTC.
I wouldn't be sure what to do in such a situation, you can either leave it where it is because it's not actually yours, or you can send it to an address of your own to ensure no one else can steal it, but post the address and the contact details in public in multiple places (bitcointalk.org, reddit.com/r/bitcoin, etc.) so that the owner (if he still has access to to the private key or passphrase) can contact you if he finds out about his missing BTC.
I found it manually. I was just typing in random words. I've been doing it for a few months now and probably checked a couple hundred addresses.
January 18, 2014, 12:10:10 PM
I was playing around with the brain wallet and checking the addresses with blockchain. I found a wallet with a balance of 50 BTC! The coins were put in the wallet in 2011 and there hasn't been any activity since. I don't want to steal someones coins but if they are "lost" I don't want to have them just sitting there. It's a lot of money! I was thinking of sending a small amount into the wallet with a message letting the person know the situation. If nothing happens after a while I guess it's "Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers." What's the right thing to do in this situation?
May I ask how long it took you to find out the passphrase leading to this address? Did you automate this process or did you do it manually?
I wouldn't be sure what to do in such a situation, you can either leave it where it is because it's not actually yours, or you can send it to an address of your own to ensure no one else can steal it, but post the address and the contact details in public in multiple places (bitcointalk.org, reddit.com/r/bitcoin, etc.) so that the owner (if he still has access to to the private key or passphrase) can contact you if he finds out about his missing BTC.
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January 18, 2014, 12:08:37 PM
I was playing around with the brain wallet and checking the addresses with blockchain. I found a wallet with a balance of 50 BTC! The coins were put in the wallet in 2011 and there hasn't been any activity since. I don't want to steal someones coins but if they are "lost" I don't want to have them just sitting there. It's a lot of money! I was thinking of sending a small amount into the wallet with a message letting the person know the situation. If nothing happens after a while I guess it's "Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers." What's the right thing to do in this situation?
Maybe I missed something here but how do you plan on claiming the coins exactly? And how do you know they're not saving the coins? Just because the wallet is dormant doesn't mean they're lost.
January 18, 2014, 11:58:04 AM
I was playing around with the brain wallet and checking the addresses with blockchain. I found a wallet with a balance of 50 BTC! The coins were put in the wallet in 2011 and there hasn't been any activity since. I don't want to steal someones coins but if they are "lost" I don't want to have them just sitting there. It's a lot of money! I was thinking of sending a small amount into the wallet with a message letting the person know the situation. If nothing happens after a while I guess it's "Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers." What's the right thing to do in this situation?
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