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Topic: Physical bitcoins can get stolen... (Read 8375 times)

vip
Activity: 1386
Merit: 1140
The Casascius 1oz 10BTC Silver Round (w/ Gold B)
July 11, 2012, 06:14:45 PM
#24
This is a problem I have with the physical bitcoins, if I leave them sitting around a burglar is probably gonna mistankingly take it cause it looks valuable even if he knows nothing about bitcoin.

If I had a private key printed on a piece of paper sitting on the desk the burglar wouldn't know it's value.

Still love the coins though.. Would be spewin' if they got nicked.

On the flip side, if you die, your family will know the bitcoins are valuable, but won't know the private key is valuable and might throw it in the garbage.
sr. member
Activity: 369
Merit: 250
July 11, 2012, 05:52:41 PM
#23
This is a problem I have with the physical bitcoins, if I leave them sitting around a burglar is probably gonna mistankingly take it cause it looks valuable even if he knows nothing about bitcoin.

If I had a private key printed on a piece of paper sitting on the desk the burglar wouldn't know it's value.

Still love the coins though.. Would be spewin' if they got nicked.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
July 11, 2012, 02:41:08 PM
#22
I am thinking of leaving signs in public restrooms that say: "If this restroom needs attention, please scan this code".  The QR code would lead to meatspin.  Just kidding.  But honestly, I would be willing to bet that not many, and likely none at all, would get redeemed out of the general public.  Now in an environment with a high concentration of tech skills (e.g. DefCon) I could see a serious percentage of interest getting redeemed.

I wouldn't think that too many in general meat space would get picked up, but would still be interesting to see the numbers.  It'd be really cool to see what would happen if there was some sort of nation-wide effort to drop these addresses to see the differences between regions on usage!  The data would be wonderful!
vip
Activity: 1386
Merit: 1140
The Casascius 1oz 10BTC Silver Round (w/ Gold B)
July 11, 2012, 02:28:57 PM
#21
I am thinking of leaving signs in public restrooms that say: "If this restroom needs attention, please scan this code".  The QR code would lead to meatspin.  Just kidding.  But honestly, I would be willing to bet that not many, and likely none at all, would get redeemed out of the general public.  Now in an environment with a high concentration of tech skills (e.g. DefCon) I could see a serious percentage of interest getting redeemed.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
July 11, 2012, 02:16:55 PM
#20
The bright side: someone just learned about Bitcoin. I'm thinking about leaving behind paper wallets in public transit, just to see if anything gets spent eventually.

That would be a pretty interesting experiment.  I'd be curious how many coins would be used if you even wrote "this is a bitcoin address with BTC on it! It's valuable!" on said paper Cheesy
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 501
There is more to Bitcoin than bitcoins.
July 11, 2012, 02:10:27 PM
#19
The bright side: someone just learned about Bitcoin. I'm thinking about leaving behind paper wallets in public transit, just to see if anything gets spent eventually.
newbie
Activity: 9
Merit: 0
July 11, 2012, 10:44:53 AM
#18
A safe deposit box might be a good idea. And if you're worried about your valuables you can always insure them. I was looking into it for my valuables and found this cool website that was pretty helpful. www.safedepositboxinsurance.com
rjk
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh
June 06, 2012, 11:30:02 AM
#17
I guess the lesson here regarding the BBC story is, if you want to set up this kind of business, you better be prepared to have a shooting war with the police. Because apparently it will come to that if you want to actually be able to offer your clients what you are promising. So quick question .. I dont really want to hire Academi because they are Xe and Blackwater scumbos, but who is their competition? Is there any good paramilitary mercenarcy organization with strong morals and good rates and availability?
Good question. I'm sure some of the legal MJ sellers in Cali would like to know this as well.
vip
Activity: 571
Merit: 504
I still <3 u Satoshi
June 06, 2012, 11:28:41 AM
#16
edit2: 2+ hours per box with special tools. there are hundreds of boxes.

Pretty sure a thief is not going to be concerned about the box being available for re-use so would be quicker in his/her method.

sure, but the safe deposit "boxes" im refering to are more analogous to a "honey comb" than a box.  the lock smith is not concerned with the condition of the door to it either
member
Activity: 83
Merit: 10
June 06, 2012, 11:12:51 AM
#15
I guess the lesson here regarding the BBC story is, if you want to set up this kind of business, you better be prepared to have a shooting war with the police. Because apparently it will come to that if you want to actually be able to offer your clients what you are promising. So quick question .. I dont really want to hire Academi because they are Xe and Blackwater scumbos, but who is their competition? Is there any good paramilitary mercenarcy organization with strong morals and good rates and availability?
hero member
Activity: 531
Merit: 501
June 06, 2012, 10:13:19 AM
#14
Nice example of why safety deposit boxes are no longer safe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12248666

"the owners of the boxes had to prove the contents inside belonged to them and, in the case of money, were legitimate income."

"The box holders included many Indian and Jewish families who were storing heirlooms and wedding jewellery because they feared burglars would steal them if they were kept at home.

For many of them, it took months to persuade the police to release their possessions."

oh wow...

I remember thinking at the time how much that whole operation stank of state enforced theft. None of the judges near the station where the raid was planned would issue the seizure warrants because they felt the grounds for searching the boxes was weak so the police had to get a "friendly" judge from miles away to help them out. Also confiscating possessions on the basis that you can't prove ownership is a blatant way of stealing wealth from ordinary citizens. I doubt that British museum could prove ownership of anything they possess but yet they don't get raided at dawn by the police. 

Just goes to show that the rule of law means sweet fuck all if the authorities are desperate to get your wealth.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
June 06, 2012, 07:52:27 AM
#13
What happens if a bank gets robbed? Is the safety deposit boc insured, and how do you prove value if so?

What would be ironic if is the insurance company denied the claim.

Most banks have a policy prohibiting the store of currency in safety deposit boxes.   Wildly ignored yes but they if a vault is compromised they won't cover claims on lost currency  "yeah I had um 1.2 no lets make it 1.5 million in $100 bills in my box.  I will take a cashier's check please".

While it would be bad news for the OP it would be good precedent for Bitcoin if the insurance company denied the claim on the grounds that Bitcoin was a currency and thus not subject to the policy.
hero member
Activity: 531
Merit: 501
June 06, 2012, 07:08:50 AM
#12
Nice example of why safety deposit boxes are no longer safe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12248666
hero member
Activity: 560
Merit: 500
June 06, 2012, 03:46:50 AM
#11
edit2: 2+ hours per box with special tools. there are hundreds of boxes.

Pretty sure a thief is not going to be concerned about the box being available for re-use so would be quicker in his/her method.

5 to 10 mins a box. now to get in there with out the police knowing with the tech we have know is not going to happen. that box is safe unless, war, the bank takes it, the govt takes it...



Governments have done such things in the past.

That's actually infinitely more likely to happen than robbers, should bitcoin become outlawed and you're found to be associated with it.
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
Wat
June 06, 2012, 03:32:31 AM
#10
edit2: 2+ hours per box with special tools. there are hundreds of boxes.

Pretty sure a thief is not going to be concerned about the box being available for re-use so would be quicker in his/her method.

5 to 10 mins a box. now to get in there with out the police knowing with the tech we have know is not going to happen. that box is safe unless, war, the bank takes it, the govt takes it...



Governments have done such things in the past.
full member
Activity: 196
Merit: 100
June 06, 2012, 02:42:04 AM
#9
edit2: 2+ hours per box with special tools. there are hundreds of boxes.

Pretty sure a thief is not going to be concerned about the box being available for re-use so would be quicker in his/her method.
vip
Activity: 571
Merit: 504
I still <3 u Satoshi
June 06, 2012, 01:55:01 AM
#8
I have another copy in a secrete safe arguably more secure than the safe deposit box. If that gets compromised then they bloody well earned it.

I figure the chances of both copies being destroyed at the same time would mean that we have been hit by an asteroid.

edit: the only way to open the safe deposit boxes are with special made keys, without which takes their lock smith 2+ hours with special tools to drill out.
not insured as far as I know.

edit2: 2+ hours per box with special tools. there are hundreds of boxes.
hero member
Activity: 560
Merit: 500
June 06, 2012, 01:24:17 AM
#7
Thats why I have my physical coins in a safe deposit box.... at the bank... is that ironic?

... the safe deposit box is free...

What happens if a bank gets robbed? Is the safety deposit boc insured, and how do you prove value if so?
vip
Activity: 571
Merit: 504
I still <3 u Satoshi
June 06, 2012, 01:09:12 AM
#6
Thats why I have my physical coins in a safe deposit box.... at the bank... is that ironic?

... the safe deposit box is free...
full member
Activity: 154
Merit: 102
Bitcoin!
November 19, 2011, 12:51:43 AM
#5
casascius could theoretically have the private keys. Never trust that he doesn't because there's no good reason to
Well, it's not like you're going to keep your life savings in casascius physical bitcoins.
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