Stolen bitcoins - what can be done?

[alastair]

Hey! unfortunately i did lose 1.76 bitcoins a few days ago..  i just got my new laptop where i did install a new bitcoin wallet to get a new address, so i sent all the bitcoins from my old computer and over the the new one. the transaction went fast and i got my coins over.

But as the computer was very fresh and had not to much software installed i decided to check facebook in the hurry. on internet explorer of all things without antivirus ( bad habit of removing all "bloatware/crapware" which is pre-installed on a computer. and while browsing facebook and other sites and stuff i must have been infected by a virus somewhere. and i did not have my fresh wallet encrypted. anyways

somehow the amount of bitcoins on my wallet got transferred to somewhere else. ( i got the bitcoin address it was sent to but nothing more..)

So here is my question: when bitcoins get stolen what is the chance of retrieving these? i know that there is no chargeback function and such but where should i start to trace the one that stole my bitcoins? i've heard that they are kinda un-traceable. but how does this really work out?

Can i get the ip-address of the receiver somehow or? i think i won't get far if i report this to the police or as "btc" is not real money and if the ISP is to deliver out the name of the receiver they need signed papers from supreme court just to get details on a ip address ( its atleast how the law is in my country ) So it is not easy to get the stealers details but will give it a try if it is possible to find his address. it would atleast give me something to go on.

my bad for not securing myself, but extremely unlucky when that happens

-alastair.

[Wy9o2Y3s]

You can try to track the transaction and attempt to compromise the attacker back ;-)

[exstasie]

You can try to track the transaction and attempt to compromise the attacker back ;-)

Other than that, there isn't much you can do.  If the attacker was smart, that money would have been moved by now to some other wallet that's not traceable.

Unfortunately you're most like SOL.

[alastair]

How can i trace the transaction? i've read that the bitcoin system do not log ip addresses. so do i just follow where the money from his address is going to until i find a place where he paid on a website then ask for the details or how do i do this?

but to be honest, should i just give up on trying to get the coins back if there is a really low chance for getting them back?

EDIT: exstasie. if the stealer know what he is doing he probably is behind alot of proxies and such. So even if i would be able to get his ip or other details and he moved the coins through different wallets its nothing that can connect him to me? So its just like being pickpocketed. the money is gone and finding the stealer is nearly impossible-..

Thanks for the answers. but i always read about other big heists of bitcoins. with millions stolen from different websites etc. are these guys caught or is it "easy" for them to get away?

[Light]

How can i trace the transaction? i've read that the bitcoin system do not log ip addresses. so do i just follow where the money from his address is going to until i find a place where he paid on a website then ask for the details or how do i do this?

but to be honest, should i just give up on trying to get the coins back if there is a really low chance for getting them back?

EDIT: exstasie. if the stealer know what he is doing he probably is behind alot of proxies and such. So even if i would be able to get his ip or other details and he moved the coins through different wallets its nothing that can connect him to me? So its just like being pickpocketed. the money is gone and finding the stealer is nearly impossible-..

Thanks for the answers. but i always read about other big heists of bitcoins. with millions stolen from different websites etc. are these guys caught or is it "easy" for them to get away?

The reality is that right now their probably long gone. You could follow the transactions made by the address that your coins were sent to via something like blockchain.info but even then you'd be hard pressed to find an identity and that's if the coins aren't mixed. Even if you could get the IP, it's probable that the IP is outside your country's jurisdiction, so unless you lost like $50 million dollars it's probably not worth the time needed to get it back. Right now, if I were you I would check out where you've been compromised before doing anymore monetary/BTC transactions.

[maurya78]

Sadly, most likely nothing

Dust yourself off, learn from this and move on

[niothor]

Short answer: Nothing.
That ip won't help you in this cause. Also the coins will probably be mixed a few times in 24h so good look tracing them next.

[AuroraHF]

You can't do anything, just count the Bitcoins as your loss. Try and disinfect your PC prior start a new wallet as well.

[terry205]

You actually have nothing.
That ip might not be the ip of the user but the one who relayed d the transaction.
Sorry for the loss but nothing you can really hope for