Bitcoin Forum

With all these recent incidents of Bitcoin hacks and theft I would like to know - has a BTC thief ever actually been tracked down and caught before?

Pirateat40 was, I think.

We aren't sure, really.

He made it pretty easy to catch him.

If someone knows what they're doing it's almost impossible to catch them. Pirateat40 was just dumb..

i doubt that someone was caught scamming people, if yes i guess only some few guys who didn't really knew how to do this. For sure most of thief's should be shame yourself doing that kind of stuff, but there are so many naive people around here who helping them.

Thanks for that, I did a check but this isn't quite what I'm looking for. In this case it was a known operator that ran off with the coins. I was thinking more along the lines of an unrelated third party stealing the BTC and then getting tracked down via blockchain analysis and community effort and hopefully doxxed in the process.

Individual hobby thieves and hackers surely do mistakes and get caught from time to time but this is virtually harmless compared to organized crime. Thats the biggest problem with Bitcoin today. There seems to be zero interest by law enforcement/governments to go after that kind of criminals ...it looks like they waiting for a good timing to use all these scandals to say "See, we told you but you wouldnt listen, banks are safe, Bitcoin is not".

As people pointed out before its also the sheer stupidity of some users, the greed for fast profit etc. that makes alot of people lose money. Having said that, no exchange can guarantee you some safety these days and if something gets too big, better play safe before you lose it all.

Personally I believe the "hacks" including Mt.Gox were just a scam .. .in a weird way they are protected by law... thats the pros and contras.

I'm not aware of anyone caught for stealing BTC. That should explain everything we need to know about protecting your bitcoins. If you think using the same measures as you use for your face book account is sufficient, then you are about to be robbed.

You are the bank and the cop in bitcoin.

Hell yeah.

Trendon T. Shavers
Charlie Shrem
Ross Ulbricht

Many others will join the list.  People mistakenly believe that just because they are using bitcoin all laws no longer apply.  They find out the hard way that drug dealing, money laundering, and fraud laws remain - no matter in which denomination these activities are taken up.  Fraud is fraud - whether done in dollars, euros, or bitcoin.  Don't make the mistake that using bitcoin means you are impervious to law.  These three idiots got confused about that.  

The legal status of bitcoin is ambiguous; the legal status of fraud remains tight!

What percentage of all stolen money has been recovered (or equivalent restitution paid) in all known and known cases?

Interesting info, share with us about that money recovered i'm really curious.

Who the F cares?  We'll make more. 

The bottom line is this...
STOP USING BITCOIN FOR ILLEGAL SHIT.  IT FUCKS UP THE COMMUNITY.

Neither Charlie nor Ross was caught for stealing. It was money laundering and drug dealing. As far as Trendon, I can't find any proof he was convicted of anything. But he may have.

we need bitcoin police

Coming soon.  Whether you like it or not. 

I would be satisfied if the police I already pay for gave a crap.

Bitcoin thieves -- including Mark Karpeles -- don't get punished. That's why exchange owners will continue stealing from their customers. They have every incentive to do so. And that's why Bitcoin can never succeed, i.e. never reach the mainstream adoption stage. Bitcoin will continue being a high-risk niche thing, and most bitcoiners seem quite happy about this.

It's like the first google result. I hope he rots in jail.
https://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539730583#.UxYkxIWGrmh

^ To be fair, it just says he was charged, not that he was convicted.

have you considered that maybe there is no BTC thieves

what about mark karpales

Oh thanks, yep that's him. I guess at least one arrest has been made.

SEC vs Trendon Shavers is still pending (AFAIK). The most recent web search that I could find gives a telephone number for those defrauded to call, so I presume it's still am active case.

http://www.securitieslitigators.com/trendon-shavers-and-bitcoin-savings-and-trust-involved-in-first-ever-bitcoin-ponzi/

I should have said: "maybe there are no BTC hackers"

I know, it seems like that why it would be good, if Gox can be shown to have done something wrong, if Karpeles goes in the clinker.  So other exchanges and bitcoin people in power get their act in gear for the good of bitcoin.