Bitcoin Forum

I just sent 3.2btc to an address that I have no idea who or what it belongs to like an idiot. I am hurting right now man you wont believe. I clicked the "addresses" tab in the bitcoin client and copied the first one in the list thinking those were my receive addresses. Turns out by looking at the blockchain, it was an address I sent two 1btc transactions to all the way back in 2011.

Seems like the only other transactions that took place at that address is 2 transfers out, shortly after receiving on the same day on 8-22-2011, with the exception of the 3.2 hitting today =(

I'm so screwed man. That's more than $2,500. I feel like crying.

Sorry for your loss. 3.2 BTC is a pretty big one.

On the good side, at least you'll have a cool story to tell your kids/friends in a few years!

Really!? You sent $250 million worth of Bitcoin to the wrong address!?

At least the other guy got a pizza....

Learn a lesson and use the note field to describe the addresses you send to.

Post the address here or search for it in google; it's worth a shot. If it's someone public address, you could appeal to them.
If it's in your address book, surely that's not entirely random. Perhaps it's a donation address for the likes of EFF or Wikileaks etc?

Try to find who owns that address.

Ouch man thats bad. I felt like crying over losing $400 worth of btc on primedice. Your post puts it my loss into perspective.

I feel bad for you :/ Always triple check transactions.

Totally sucks man. My whole day is ruined.

So bad :/ sorry for you.

Mt. Gox perhaps? It wouldn't hurt to check all of your old accounts. Hopefully, it is not some defunct exchange.

but you repeat yourself.

Sorry to hear your loss.
Your own addresses is indeed listed in the receive tab, and there is a line in the addresses tab "These are your Bitcoin Addresses for sending payments."


lol.  ;)

Dealing with Bitcoin since 2011 should mean I know what I am doing by now but clearly is not the case. I've been going crazy looking everywhere. I checked mtgox and sure enough i did make a transfer to them the same day, but unfortunately it wasn't the address i sent the 3.2btc to.


I do have a good update to report though. I found an old electrum wallet backup in my search for the 3.2btc and when I restored it there was 1btc sitting there! Technically my loss is reduced to 2.2btc. I am still in a bad spot since I need to repay the 3.2btc with 10% interest over the next 90days.

I have been trying to examine the block chain for information and I can see a lot but there are somethings on blockchain.info that are pretty technical and i dont know if they could potentially help me figure this out or not. Are there any tools in blockchain.info that I may not know how to use that someon could explain? Maybe help me figure out whether the address I sent the btc to is associated with an entity that deals with alot of bitcoin? if thats the case, probably means it's not an address I own, lol.

thank you for your kind words guys. still sucks man. im so down =(               

Can you not send a small amount with a public message to see if the user would return some of the coins or get in contact with you?

Having done this with tiny amounts in comparison, I know the sinking feeling i get when i realise even with such a small amount. I cant imagine losing 3.2...

If you want to you can post the transaction ID here and we can all try to help you.  May not come to anything buy may be worth the try.

+1

3.2. Jeeeesus. That's gotta hurt. Donation address?

Wow that sucks man. If i had 3.2 BTC ,  and I used the wrong address, I would flip. GL getting your money back.

I flipped bro, trust me, lol. I flipped. I'm over it now though, sure does hurt to see the 3.2 sitting there, especially knowing it must have belonged to me somehow, someway. It'll really be a killer when coins are 5 digits, lol.

15KdygTSeuV4AXGh91X7xfymBJt7UzXgK7

Donations of course appreciated but don't worry about it. Thought that counts so thank you... Guess what...Someone moved that 3.2 out of there TODAY! Now I'm crying. Someone got a nice frigging gift man. And they realized it =(

Please give us the address and/or transaction ID

Man that sucks!  :-\

Atleast it was 3.2 btc and not 3.3!

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g144/hrstumpde/Soundtrack/2011%20Posts/2011%20April/Good%20Friday%202011/monty-python-s-life-of-brian-original.jpg

Hey, you know what guys? Anyone remember instawallet? It's a strong possibility that's where I sent those funds to. I remember fooling around with the service and sending money back and forth. One of the 2 transactions on the only other day I used that wallet address back in 2011 was me sending funds from an instawallet address. It's easy to see since it's labeled as such. Also, when I click that instawallet labeled address, you can see over a quarter million bitcoins were sent into that address in it's entire history.


I'm not that good with researching on the block chain  but I think the address I sent the 3.2btc to is also an instawallet address. I'll look but I don't think I have the addresses saved on this computer (client on work computer) but I will look. More importantly, if anyone is good with block chain research and think they can help me figure this out, I can restore the backup wallet on the computer I am using now and get you that address.

Someone mentioned that I should send a small transaction with a note hoping it would reach someone who owns that wallet. I thought you did that using the "sign message" option under the file menu in the client, but that was wrong. I still ended up sending an additional .000911 to that address, hoping to send an emergency message.

 >:( I'm pissed that those funds were swept out today. Can you believe that someone sees 3.2btc magically appear in their account?? Thing is, I cant think of anyone I sent money to back then. Bitcoins were a rare breed still. It was mostly me playing with mtgox and instawallet back then.

I hope you learn from this. Be extra careful dealing bitcoins especially if high amounts. This is also happen to me when the price was $90. I withdraw 1.2 btc to a wrong address. I was very sleepy that time.

@Cryptominer not sure why you ignored BurtW's message but please provide tx id or address.

Share this

Not ignoring, I thought I said in my previous post that the wallet is on my computer at work. I'll be back there Monday (tomorrow ) and I'll post it. Would be awesome if you guys can help etermine if indedd it was an instawallet addy. I'm in touch with the guy BTW and he's looking.

Read my posts and you'll see now I mentioned it 3 times.

Here it is again. Of course I would like help. It was almost 3 g's. Still, it was my idiotic move.

thats a good one, despite the severity of this thread you make me laugh

sorry for your loss CryptoMiner you should post the transaction ID, maybe somebody traded with this address and can direct you

15KUecgaW2x4tDwRWfpnMJxq4RRJ5Z7fQN


Not sure why it seemed nerves got raised in here but all I needed was to get back to work to give it to you guys. Well, here it is. I'm very appreciative for any help at all.

The only other time I deposited into this address was back in 2011. I really remember this being an Instawallet address. Like I said I'm in touch with owner/partner/whatever and waiting for news. I'll update on progress. Let me know what you guys can tell. PM me if necessary.

Thank you very much.

BTW, whoever sent that .01 donation, THANK YOU!

best luck getting that coinage back. feel gutted for you

Thanks buddy. I'm nervous since the funds were already swept out, as you can see. Was hoping it was my wallet in some account I forgot about. I'm hoping it's the instawallet guy who swept the funds. Cross your fingers guys. Can anyone tell anything?

Interesting stuff studying the blockchain.

3 days later the person who got my coins sent them from 15KUecgaW2x4tDwRWfpnMJxq4RRJ5Z7fQN (where I sent them by accident) to 1Kn9TPfJSyjjCioSNoHsdyPR5m2cUeqXke Seems like whoever got the coins, swept the coins into a very active account(business?). What do you guys make of the most recent transaction? Look how many wallets it is coming from ??? 2 of them are labeled (splat44 & spook30) and they link to profiles here on bitcointalk. I sent them both PM's. Hopefully they can help identify where my coins went! I don't get why so many wallets are involved though. Doesn't that reinforce my feeling it's an instawallet address?


Anyways, I'd like to formally reach out to you guys for help. Maybe when digging there will be more labeled wallets and maybe someone can get in touch with someone here to figure out what business it belongs to so I can kindly ask them to return the funds. Or is that a pipe dream? I would give a generous tip, very generous.

For that matter, I would be extremely generous with anyone who manages to help me recover any funds. If at all possible.

By the way guys, the Instawallet possibility is not dead yet. I'm being patient and waiting for him to reach me back. Of course I'm nervous and don't like the fact the funds moved but all I can do is wait.

I know this is in the beginner's & help category. Are any of you guys familiar with that service? Please share this.

Ouch! That was too bad! Try to search who owns the address.

Ouch shit man hope its good now?

Didnt they return it?!

You can say that again!




Definitely did not. I'm about to send more tiny transactions there not only showing 0.0000911 in there but also make a message.




I'm doing my best but could use some help. All the numbers start dancing on the screen, then I start thinking about the money I lost, then I realize I should be working, not on bitcointalk, lol

Figured out how to send a message with a transaction. Check this link...

https://blockchain.info/address/15KUecgaW2x4tDwRWfpnMJxq4RRJ5Z7fQN (https://blockchain.info/address/15KUecgaW2x4tDwRWfpnMJxq4RRJ5Z7fQN)


Anyone come up with anything?

Would this help to get a little Satoshi just for the purpose of sending messages to that address? http://freebitco.in/ gives a pay out of between 0.00000225 up to 0.22500000 just for pressing the button once per hour.  At least that way you could send some more messages without losing any more of your own Satoshi.

That is just sad to hear :/ I would have tried to find out what wallet that is tho.

sorry for your loss
strong hug

A good practice is to send a test transaction first, such as 0.0001 with a fee of the same. Then check with the person, exchange or to where ever it is that you're sending it that the test transaction went through correctly. If it did, then put a name/description to that address so it will show the next time you want to send coin there, as a double-check that you're sending it to the correct address. If the 0.0001 didn't show up where you expected, then all you're out is 0.0002 and not something like 3.2 or more (hopefully less, much less).

Good luck on getting your coin back.

Great message. Congrats on getting it sent and as a public post so all will see the message. I hope it helps in getting your 3.2 btc returned. Public shame can do wonders. In centuries past the shame of being in the stocks in the public square where your fellow citizens would throw rotten fruit and other such horrible things at you was an effective deterrent to crime or just bad behavior.

HaHa you are an EPIC FAIL!

Are you saying I should feel shamed for admitting I sent a few grand into a black hole? Feel like a dumb ass? Yes Shamed? Absolutely not. I guess I don't possess that high a level of narcissism.

For those that actually care, Instawallet/Paymium have confirmed that it is one of their addresses indeed and are working to get my funds back. That would truly be epic. Will update here.

Seems like we finally have a good news :)
Hope you can get back your bitcoin soon :)

excellent news mate  :)

Thank you for the kind words guys. I really can't believe it but they confirmed it. Although it's my fault for getting into this mess, this would be huge for them. Anyone here remember the disaster that happened with them? Was a while ago and too bad for them, their service kicked ass.

Great news.  For all of the press that exists that tries to demonstrate that the crypto currency world is filled with only thieves and crooks, this shows there are people out there with integrity.  I recall seeing at least one other thread a while back where something similar happened and the funds were returned.  I think that was for a larger amount of BTC too.  I would imagine there are more examples, but these stories just don't make nearly as exiting of a headline...

Inspiring story!

You got lucky. Glad to hear you'll be getting your coins back.

You can find the details here.

Another Bitcoin Wallet Service, Instawallet, Suffers Attack, Shuts Down Until Further Notice:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/03/bitcoin-instawallet/

Well, I can't get to excited. They told me they put me in rotation to receive my coins back in June, when they make their next payout to the people that lost money. Honestly it does stink, especially since I can see they already received my coins and moved them into another account. All you guys can clearly see that.

Did anyone hear of any reports of anyone getting paid back since that nightmare? (Which BTW I did lose money when they got hacked)
I remember they implemented some kind of claims system. How did that ever work out? Anyone know? Guess I need to start searching here.

Anyways, for the record, Boussac is the one that I reached out to and the one communicating with me. He just told me he reached out to
Davout and I guess that's who will be paying me back in June. Honestly both of them are ripped to shreds in these forums so I would love to have the pleasure saying they gave me back my coins. It would certainly lend to their credibility if they pay a person back when they don't have to as it was my assholishness that made the mistake in the first place.

Well, I can't do anything other than be patient. I will certainly very happy if they come through. Just don't know why I need to wait until June but I'll wait.

Hahaha, sucks being you dude.

June??  why is that... and if the price skyrockets in the meantime, there will be less incentive to send it back.  Seems they are just trying to let time/distance to forget about the whole issue and keep the coins.

hope you get them back though, that's a lot of BTC

Sorry to hear your incident, with the address.

Always "label" so your organized.

the instawallet guys run bitcoin-central, they shutdown instawallet after someone discovered that they could access instawallet addresses from google...

many coins were stolen and they are trying to pay it back, slowly , as there is no proof of who is the real owner of each of those instawallet addresses.

they should get to you eventually.

soooooo... they are using your coins to pay customers who lost previous coins?
that stinks of poo.

hm....then whose coins will be used to pay OP?  ???

I wouldn't expect that you'll get your coins back. Just learn from the experience and be more careful in the future.

And don't borrow BTC anymore. It's a good idea to borrow as few money as possible (except for things like a house or an education), especially in a currency that has risen in value so much as BTC, you'll end up having to pay back way more than what the value was when you loaned it. Imagine BTC going up 10 times in value (don't say that will happen soon, if ever) then you have to spend 10 times as much fiat to buy back the BTC you loaned.

The next person who accidentally sends them 2 BTC?

The guy Davout reached out to me unsolicited & on his own letting me know he's aware of the situation and asked if he could send the btc back to the same address the block chain shows they came from. I told him it would be a risky move since I sent them from a website in which my depositing address does not match the address the lost coins were sent from. I could reach out to the site and see what they can do but either way it's risky, no?

I asked if he would send the coins back to the very first depositing address (1DrB37v7pJBwcf9LZngzpxyhjN4eEZDdAVk) for that instawallet which was made on 8-22-2011 since I still have access to that original address.

I'm waiting for a reply now. I'll let you guys know how it goes but it looks like it could be promising. Fingers crossed guys. In case not...who was it asking for my donation address? =)

If they give back the coins, you should give them a reward for doing so. Perhaps they can use that reward towards paying off their debt.

I'm prepared to be extremely generous if they do. Honestly the more time that passes, the more it's about the point. I have some confidence. They never had to admit they received anything and they did so that's a good sign. Waiting to hear back.

Oooh,, this sucks..
Keep us informed.

At this moment I have some challenges myself.
0,9 Coins into gox... (A.K.A sponsored to mark)
And a whole lot of coins parked by scammers on BTCjam. :(

Thanks bok. I'll keep you guys informed. Boussac and D=davout want to send the funds back to the wallet address where the coins came from. I need to first confirm the website where I sent the funds from will be able to retrieve the coins if I have them do that. Unfortunately my wallet on the site does not match the address the coins came from when I made the transaction.

What do you mean about scammers parked coins on btcjam? Please explain(You lost me, lol)

Thanks bok!

Guys, I am extremely happy to let you all know that they sent me back every penny today. Yes, the guys at Paymium who ran instawallet just returned almost 4btc to me that I sent to their wallet by complete accident. A wallet address I had not used since 2011. I managed to figure out a way to prove that I was the one that set the coins, and after a few, 3 months ,I got paid back every penny.

I figured I owed it to them, davout and boussac, to let them know how much they made my day today.

Thanks guys!

excellent, glad you finally got that sorted.  :)

Glad to see your got it back. To be honest, I am a bit surprised to see they agree to send it back to you. ;D