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Well if you're wondering how the scam works like @Cryptosize, I can explain it as I fell for it. Like the OP I'm a crypto-noob living in Melbourne. A little less nooby as I did open a Binance account last year to help my son retrieve profits from some staking he'd done late 2021 when we were in what retired futures traders like moi call a dead cat bounce. Anyway, after I'd retrieved his $140 I decided to tip in c.$1000 in BNB, ETH, IOTA and one other (can't remember - ADA? Cardano? Matic?) So yesterday I was walking along Bell St Coburg and after seeing the third of these 'bright shiny objects', thought I'd investigate. Brought it home, logged into https://paymetic.online/ with the requisite credentials, transferred the required USD92.55 in ETH and waited for my 0.62BTC BTC to land in my Binance account. A couple of asides for those still following: - I obviously don't have the high moral standards of the OP who sought the wallet's owner. I figured if you store your moolah on a paper wallet with no traceable contact channel, you have taken a risk that lets opportunists like me in. I've done sums of money with similar levels of laxity. Comme si, comme ça
- Getting to this point in the process had taken me nearly two hours [I said I was a noob, okay?]. I considered USD12k reasonable reward for my effort and risk.
Anyhoo, the upshot is I end up with this message on the Paymetic transaction page: Good to hear you came out relatively unscathed. Not sure some of my moral standards could be called high... A learning experience for me. I'm glad I found bitcointalk.. |
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Yep I'm happy for you to post the photos i took of the wallets I found. I took the liberty of cropping them a bit (there were other thumbnails visible on the screenshot. This is what I received:   (click for larger size, or click right > Open Image in New Tab" to view the full size through Bitcointalk's image proxy) This is the address: Funds moved out of this address on August 29, 2022. I'd like to know if those funds came from victims who fell for this scam. If it actually works for the scammer, we may see many more scams like this! Thanks for cropping LoyceV  |
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So you won't believe it,.. I was walking my dog yesterday,. I came across another paper wallet! This time I took a photo after I pulled it from the seagrass. What are the chances? Have I come across some secret BTC honey hole? What if this one has more than 0.6BTC in it?
Again, I placed the wallet on my demister and carefully unfolded it when it was dry enough. Again, folded origami fashion and stapled, concealing one of the QR codes and a secret code. I couldn't believe my luck! Someone must surely be missing these wallets!?
Pulled 'Shantaram' off the shelf, flicked open to the last page,... the damn paper wallets are identical!! All numbers, QR codes,.. exactly the same! I have photo's of the two paper wallets and will try send them to someone on here as I can't seem to be able to attach the pics to this post.
Rewind about 2wks,.. I did some basic research on the .com site printed on the wallet and noticed it was only a new website and that it has been given a 99.6% chance of it being a phishing website and extremely unlikely to be authentic. But for the sake of a good story I didn't want to let on to you all after all the interest this find had generated. It was after discovering this that I decided to put the story to bed and retire the wallet to Shantaram. I had, upon finding the first paper wallet, scanned the QR code to be guided to what looked like a completely genuine website, following the links to identify a balance of 0.61xxx? btc,.. which I misquoted here deliberately to maintain a modicum of secrecy. I can't actually even remember now the exact balance,.. but equated it using online btc calculators to be around USD$20k. Scanning the QR code now leads to a dead page.
I checked into this chat every now and then and upon the realisation that I had been duped, thought it best to put aside my embarrassment and provide a conclusion to you all. I apologise if you feel these last 10 pages of chat has been a waste. I don't think it has,.. it's been hugely educational for me, have really enjoyed the banter and even enjoyed the mushroom jokes. I was never going to cash in my find and buy a spores car (*that's the best shroom joke I have).. Even when I initially felt I had stumbled across a windfall, ..it was never my intent to take the btc. It crossed my mind,.. but it's just not something I'd feel comfortable doing. So where does that leave me? With a basic understanding of what a bitcoin wallet is, 2 x really cool bookmarks and a rather interesting tale. Cheers guys!
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One thing for sure is, you know your intentions, but while those intentions might be good, removing that wallet could potentially hinder the recovery of it. It's a bit like the butterfly effect where your decisions can alter things, that you weren't planning on altering.
Hey thank you all, I really apreciate ALL the advice, feedback and banter this discovery has generated. After much consideration, I have decided to do precisely nothing at all with the paper wallet, except to slip it inside the back cover of my favourite book 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts. There it will stay. I hope the original owner has the ability to remove their coins. I'll rediscover the wallet if/when the universe wants me to, but for now I'm just going to leave it there. If you ever see the book Shantaram at a yard sale or deceased estate,.. flip through to the last few pages,.... you never know.. |
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I guess that's entirely possible. I think I have done due diligence to ensure that doesn't happen.
I'll let you know. I don't understand why you don't just share the address here, since that remains by far the most likely route to letting the owner of the coins track you down, far more likely than anything which will be achieved by blockchain analysis by this local individual. We obviously can't force you to do anything, but be aware that if this person asks for anything about the private key, then they are trying to scam you/steal the coins. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for them to require any information about the private key, and knowledge of the private key does not allow them to do any kind of blockchain analysis or investigation beyond that which can be done from knowledge of just the address. Ok... so if I were to liaise with any member from btctalk who had offered information here regarding my find,.. would you be the most trustworthy and be able to resolve this in the most morally appropriate manner? If not.. who? I am happy to offer up any finders fee the actual owner proposes.. if any? Would other members agree that you were the most trustworthy? Genuine question.. if plan a falls through.. who do you all recommend here is most trustworthy? Is it based on merit points? |
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And respectfully, given that by your own admission you know very little about bitcoin but have now been convinced to start handing over data privately to a single individual, there is a high chance here that this individual will attempt to steal the contents of the wallet for themselves.
I guess that's entirely possible. I think I have done due diligence to ensure that doesn't happen. I'll let you know. |
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easternklaas hasn't written anything for a few days, but I am sure he/she is still checking this thread. @easternklaas can you tell us what is written on it besides the keys? You mentioned a logo and a website. Share some more info about it.
Respectfully, I'm not overly keen to divulge any additional info regarding my discovery than I already have. I have identified someone locally with the skills to search on my behalf for the original owner of the paper wallet. I'll update when I know more. |
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I do partly share Agbe's suspiciousness of easternklaas' story, to be fully honest. You said, you did not know or have no idea on bitcoin or Wallet but from your discovery of the paper wallet, you noticed that it contained 0.6 BTC which you confirmed that it is bitcoin from the first sight.
On the other hand, it is plausible that where he lives, a lot of stuff is washed up and easternklaas enjoys picking up whatever interesting things are left in the sand. ] Sorry,.. I maybe overstated my naivety.. I had heard of bitcoin & have a basic understanding of what coins are and how they work. I've never owned any or have ever cared to tbh. I didn't instantly recognise it as anything more than what I thought was a neatly folded cheque in a plastic pocket amongst the washed up Only upon drying the card was I rlly able to identify the btc logo. There's soo much rubbish blown onto this beach. Beachcombing passes the time whilst the dogs chase birds and roll in the remains of dead fish. I also came home with 2 x rubber dog balls and a funky piece of driftwood. I scanned the initially concealed QR code on my phone, entered the also concealed code and was presented with a web page with info pertaining to a btc balance of 0.6104...ish. Is this typical of how these things work? I wasn't required to enter any other info. Seems a bit too easy to me.... |
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In that case, I would do nothing. As suchmoon says, the real owner might try to move the coins at any point between now and decades in to the future. You cannot assume the coins are lost just because that paper wallet goes unclaimed.
Didn't really think about that.. might be a cool souvenir and a cool story to tell my grandkids ... of the day I found something that sparked an educational sojourn down a rabbit hole I've not been down before,... to be rediscovered in my old age...... ... or do I tell them a different story? |
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You should edit your post (just like I did now) instead of making a new post if you were the last one posting in a topic.
Gotcha. Thx LoyceV Or make an OP_RETURN transaction with a thousand satoshis or so, that says: "This paper wallet has been found on a beach. If you own this private key, get your coins out immediately!" It can be viewed on such block explorers as Blockstream, that decode the OP_RETURN data.
I'm leaning toward this idea, thx NotATether I think it would be more ethical to wait a while and not touch these bitcoin, giving the owner a chance to return them.
m2017 I agree,.. I will give it until the end of the month
Let's say few weeks and months pass and nothing happens.
Would you simply burn the words, give it to police, or maybe give it to some poor people?
There is always possible scenario of someone finding private keys of satoshi coins, any many other keys for inactive coins could be find by other people, so I don't see any difference with lost coins.
Should I be unable to locate the original owner after having exhausted all efforts to do so, within my capabilities.... * I don't know/trust anyone in my friend circle who can assist in such endeavor's, nor would I be confident enough undertaking many of the processes identified by the knowledgeable folk here who have offered their advice. Wouldn't burn it or give to the police. Give it to some poor people? I have a number of charities that I know could use the coin better than I would. My main concern would be how to monetise the btc without having to give 30% to the tax man.
Mod note: Merged posts, cleaned up quoting |
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Question to the OP: what makes you think that the private key printed on a piece of paper actually corresponds to the address printed next to it?.
Sorry witcher_sense ... I did answer the question.. but my response was removed by mods? In short,.. I don't know.. which is why I'm here.. for advice |
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Question to the OP: what makes you think that the private key printed on a piece of paper actually corresponds to the address printed next to it? The well-known motto in the bitcoin community states that you shouldn't blindly trust everything you see but verify it for yourself. Have you tried to verify that the private key is real and that you haven't been pranked or tricked into believing that you magically became richer overnight? One of the ways to check the genuineness of a private key is to try to spend coins from the address (transfer them to the wallet you control). Alternatively, if you don't want to get in trouble because of someone accusing you of stealing someone else's property, you can simply sign a message with a paper wallet's address and private key. This way, you will verify that the paper wallet is real and that you're not wasting your time trying to find the owner.
Good question... tbh I knew nothing about what I found on the beach and now know only a fraction more. I am a firm believer of the adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.. so in not going to be super bummed if I'm just the victim of a prank or attempted scam. I'm learning loads here and am grateful for all your input. If it turns out to be a real paper wallet,.. with real coin... great... I'll try doing what i can to find the owner.. if I've simply found someone's attempt at humour... sounds a little odd ..but ok... ya got me!! Maybe I'm wasting all your time by chasing a rediculous red herring... I don't know.. apologies if so. Maybe I shld try sweeping (.. a new word I've learnt) the coin into another account to see if it's legit.... but is that like trying the key I found in a front door even though I know full well it's not my house? |
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@easternklaas, When I read your location, it occurred to me that a few months ago I read about floods in that part of Australia, so I wonder if it is possible that some of the floods actually caused that paper wallet to appear on the beach? I think that the flood hit some houses and thus took some things with it into the river that flows into the sea, which then threw that wallet onto the beach. It's just a theory, of course, but somehow it seems more realistic to me than someone walking on the beach with a paper wallet containing 0.6 BTC, losing it and not trying to find it. Entirely possible Lucius. The paper wallet was wet and had obviously been in the water. The beach also receives lots of rubbish washed upon its shores and some interesting items have been found over the years. An ATM was recently recovered on the shoreline... In my opinion, the most likely scenario.. knowing the motivation of local riff raff, is that it came from some poor souls wallet or home and was deemed neither cash nor drugs. The crims around here are not terribly bright and wouldn't know what it was.
So easternklaas what you have decided to do with the wallet and funds? Have your decided already how to identify wallet owner, in case several people apply as owners?
I haven't decided as yet bakasabo. I will take advice from this thread and have a good crack at finding the owner. If this fails,.. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. It does pose an interesting moral dilemma doesn't it. If I found a rubbish bag with $20k cash in it,.. dare I say it, I am not entirely sure I'd be so active to find the owner. What would you do if you were in my shoes?
If you're not familiar with Bitcoin what makes you think it's a Bitcoin paper wallet?
Fair question Cricktor.. When I first saw it, I thought it was a folded up checque. Removing it carefully from its plastic pockets, it was stuck together, so I carefully prised it apart and sat it on my windscreen demister on the car trip home. It dried out pretty quickly. It was folded in an unusual manner and stapled to conceal a QR code and another code. There is faint remnants of a bitcoin logo on it and the words 'paper wallet' and the name of the website from which it came printed down the right hand side. A quick google and I was holding what the search engine image results identified as a 'paper wallet'. From there, I did a crash course in paper wallets, and figured out how to identify the balance of the wallet,.. kept researching and found this bitcointalk.org site. |
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Thx Dave and suchmoon. As nice as some extra money would be nice, it isn't mine and I'd rather it goes back to the owner . Best case scenario the owner does indeed have a copy. Naive question,.. but is it possible with this wallet to identify when it was last transacted upon?
Been back to the beach this morning and nothing else here to help me identify the owner.
Might just sit on it for a bit and seek more feedback. Thanks again. I am very appreciative of your time and advice.
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Excellent! Thanks for your advice.
Cheers
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Law in Australia suggests I can be charged with 'theft by finding' if I don't make a reasonable attempt to identify the owner. This seems to be impossible in this instance... seems a shame to hand it in to police.. who are likely not educated enough to know what to do with it. What would you do?
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I know how this sounds,.. but I swear it's true... I saw and picked up what I thought was an odd looking piece of card in a dbl sealed plastic pocket whilst walking my dogs! The card inside was wet but legible and after drying it out I discovered it was a paper wallet (I have no idea about bitcoin or wallets aside from what I have discovered over last 24hrs,... which has led me here).
The paper wallet has 0.6 BTC. Some strange things have been known to wash up on this beach. I suspect it was stolen and dumped by an ignorant burglar. It's there any way to identify from whom it came so I can return it? It seems pointless handing it into the police if they'll just destroy it....
I am in Victoria, Australia.
Thx
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