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Topic: Users' Bitcoins Seized by DEA (Read 8301 times)

full member
Activity: 226
Merit: 100
June 22, 2014, 02:55:33 PM
#45
The seizure story broke 1 Year ago om Let's Talk Bitcoin

http://letstalkbitcoin.com/users-bitcoins-seized-by-dea/
hero member
Activity: 952
Merit: 1009
June 24, 2013, 01:09:44 PM
#44
It would not be until the police strip searched me and found my private key tattooed on my penis that they would have access to my bitcoins.

That is why they call them your "privates".

What about sticks to the face?
legendary
Activity: 2156
Merit: 1393
You lead and I'll watch you walk away.
June 24, 2013, 12:55:18 PM
#43
So...
This all leads to the several obvious questions:
Whats the BEST way to protect yourself? With a condom.
Whats the BEST way to protect your wallet? With a brain wallet.

Whats to stop them from "Seizing" ANY wallet TO which bitcoins "USED" for illicit activities ends up? Lock your front door.
IE, Someone buys drugs on SR, the dealer then buys/donates/trades bitcoins with someone in a completely legal way.  Whats to prevent them from following the blockchain path and arresting the innocent third party (you, me??) for receiving "drug money". Nothing, because you're a prisoner of your governmental system.


newbie
Activity: 29
Merit: 0
June 24, 2013, 12:50:28 PM
#42
So...
This all leads to the several obvious questions:
Whats the BEST way to protect yourself?
Whats the BEST way to protect your wallet?

Whats to stop them from "Seizing" ANY wallet TO which bitcoins "USED" for illicit activities ends up?
IE, Someone buys drugs on SR, the dealer then buys/donates/trades bitcoins with someone in a completely legal way.  Whats to prevent them from following the blockchain path and arresting the innocent third party (you, me??) for receiving "drug money".

legendary
Activity: 2156
Merit: 1393
You lead and I'll watch you walk away.
June 24, 2013, 12:29:03 PM
#41
It would not be until the police strip searched me and found my private key tattooed on my penis that they would have access to my bitcoins.

That is why they call them your "privates".

rolf
legendary
Activity: 3598
Merit: 2386
Viva Ut Vivas
June 24, 2013, 11:55:32 AM
#40
It would not be until the police strip searched me and found my private key tattooed on my penis that they would have access to my bitcoins.

That is why they call them your "privates".
full member
Activity: 182
Merit: 100
order in numbers
June 24, 2013, 11:26:16 AM
#39
I'm surprised this hasn't happened earlier...
legendary
Activity: 2156
Merit: 1393
You lead and I'll watch you walk away.
June 24, 2013, 10:52:54 AM
#38
A new page in bitcoin's history.

True dat. Encrypt your wallet people, and stay off silk road!

You naughty drug dealers...

are people really this stupid to buy illegal drugs online?

Well, for the most part, they've been rather smart about it. Not that I condone it, but I applaud their technical skill.

That method is too much trouble when you can go to any major university in the world and get anything you want easily. I bet there's 10 times the volume sold at student union buildings than you could ever get off of SR.  And half of it is cooked right on campus!
hero member
Activity: 728
Merit: 500
June 24, 2013, 10:51:15 AM
#37
Im pretty sure the DEA always confiscates drug money, digital or otherwise, nothing to see here move along

I think the dealer "collaborated" under the classic threat of a life in prison. Probably he even showed them how much was in his bitcoin wallet.
I think at least one DEA investigator has spent some time into learning how bitcoin, Tor and Silk Road work. This investigator is not likely to be in for a promotion. Not for catching such a small fish.
donator
Activity: 1464
Merit: 1047
I outlived my lifetime membership:)
June 24, 2013, 10:34:40 AM
#36
A new page in bitcoin's history.

True dat. Encrypt your wallet people, and stay off silk road!

You naughty drug dealers...

are people really this stupid to buy illegal drugs online?

Well, for the most part, they've been rather smart about it. Not that I condone it, but I applaud their technical skill.
full member
Activity: 152
Merit: 100
June 24, 2013, 07:01:06 AM
#35
Quote from: r3wt
the feds can crack your encrypted wallets very easily. all you have to do is dump the private keys with pywallet, and save them in atext file. then you delete the wallet.dat file. rename the app data folder for bitcoin, then reinstall bitcoin. prior to launch bitcoin, move the blockchain from the old bitcoin to the new app data bitcoin folder. now start bitcoin and import the private keys. you now have an unencrypted bitcoin wallet with all the funds of the old encrypted one.

Quote from: r3wt
you can get away with it a few times, but they will catch on eventually when you are receiving suspicious packages by mail. usually, they let you get away with it enough times to wait until you purchase felony amounts. it happened to a friend of mine. i can't speak for all states but my uncle is DTF here in Arkansas and this is how it works: they intercept your first purchase from silk road, and they give you a grace period. the second time you recieve a package, they open a file on you. the first time you receive an amount of drugs large enough for them to charge you with Possesion with Intent to deliver, conspiracy by recieving and felony possesion, they bust your ass as soon as you sign.

User "r3wt" is spreading misinformation. Please do not take him serious.
hero member
Activity: 798
Merit: 1000
www.DonateMedia.org
June 24, 2013, 04:50:09 AM
#34
Im pretty sure the DEA always confiscates drug money, digital or otherwise, nothing to see here move along
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
June 24, 2013, 03:35:06 AM
#33
the feds can crack your encrypted wallets very easily. all you have to do is dump the private keys with pywallet, and save them in atext file. then you delete the wallet.dat file. rename the app data folder for bitcoin, then reinstall bitcoin. prior to launch bitcoin, move the blockchain from the old bitcoin to the new app data bitcoin folder. now start bitcoin and import the private keys. you now have an unencrypted bitcoin wallet with all the funds of the old encrypted one.  

To export private keys you need the encryption passphrase.  If you have the encryption passphrase you don't need to do all that nonsense you can just use the wallet.

The QT wallet uses rather robust encryption of private keys (ask anyone who forgot even part of their passphrase).  The passphrase is hashed SHA-256 a few thousands times (exact number depends on computing power of the system running your wallet).  This generates the 256 bit key which is used by AES for the actual encryption and decryption of the wallet.  There are no backdoors and with a sufficiently complex passphrase it is beyond brute force possibility due to key hardening.  Of course all of this is open source so one could just look at the source code to realize the poster is just make up garbage.
legendary
Activity: 3920
Merit: 2349
Eadem mutata resurgo
June 24, 2013, 03:29:36 AM
#32
LOL, so the DEA have a bitcoin wallet? will the DEA trade the bitcoin for fiat Huh

No, now they can go shopping on SR for the good stuff ....
full member
Activity: 168
Merit: 100
June 23, 2013, 11:36:45 PM
#31
Update: Hughes seems to be the SR vendor 'Casey Jones' http://www.reddit.com/r/SilkRoad/comments/1gxiv7/srrelated_bitcoin_seizure/caoxlmg

I told him that lady in red was trouble.
sr. member
Activity: 285
Merit: 250
Bitcoin.org maintainer
June 23, 2013, 11:17:17 PM
#30
What wallet encryption can offer beside protecting from theft :
https://xkcd.com/538/
legendary
Activity: 1918
Merit: 1570
Bitcoin: An Idea Worth Spending
newbie
Activity: 47
Merit: 0
June 23, 2013, 09:59:18 PM
#28
Update: Hughes seems to be the SR vendor 'Casey Jones' http://www.reddit.com/r/SilkRoad/comments/1gxiv7/srrelated_bitcoin_seizure/caoxlmg
hero member
Activity: 577
Merit: 500
June 23, 2013, 08:24:44 PM
#27
LOL, so the DEA have a bitcoin wallet? will the DEA trade the bitcoin for fiat Huh
newbie
Activity: 47
Merit: 0
June 23, 2013, 08:10:21 PM
#26
That Eric Hughes doesn't seem to have the middle name 'D', most materials place him in California and not South Carolina, he's pretty old at this point, and there are a ton of people all named Eric Hughes (searching for 'Eric D Hughes South Carolina', I found a paid people database claiming multiple Eric D Hughes in South Carolina!). An interesting possibility, but unlikely.
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