What would you do if you found others' keys?

[erep]

I have experienced accidentally entering the private key in the airdrop form at that time, my wallet has been emptied and the top valuable token has been sent to another address, but I'm sure he's not here because after I read many wise posts above that no one uses a wallet that and some choose to donate to the foundation. But for this case, if we find another wallet's private key then it is possible that the wallet is vulnerable to being hacked by other people and it is better for the asset to be temporarily transferred to the new wallet until we get the original user report from that wallet, if when we get the original user it will be returned and if not until a certain time, the funds will be used for charity, donations to foundations and activities for other charities.

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[tjtonmoy]

What would you do if you managed to come across someone else's private key and it's worth an amount that most people would 'prefer not to lose', assuming you have no [idea who it belongs] to or [location clues]? Eg. Sweeping through common books' text for BIP39-based keys.

I suppose you could send a dollar's worth to a different address and hopefully they'd get the hint.

Firstly, if that key is put there intentionally for someone to get their hand on that key, and if that kinda seems sketchy, then I will avoid dealing with that key entirely. This is just the first step for you to get scammed. The moment you put that key in, there are some scenarios that are going to happen.
You may get hacked immediately after putting that key in your device.
Your other wallets (if logged in, in the same device) might get hacked.
Your wallet will may get controlled by BOT, in this case every token or valuable coins available in your other account may get transferred to a totally unknown wallet controlled by hacker.
There were a scam recently where scammer send fake stable coin into wallet and when they tried to transfer that stable coin, hacked had taken the control over his wallet.

If not sketchy, then I will keep them. Call me greedy, but whom can I find with this piece of paper that has nothing about them and no way to trace them from a wallet address.

So beware of scammers and keep your assets safe.

[rby]

What would you do if you managed to come across someone else's private key and it's worth an amount that most people would 'prefer not to lose', assuming you have no [idea who it belongs] to or [location clues]? Eg. Sweeping through common books' text for BIP39-based keys.

I suppose you could send a dollar's worth to a different address and hopefully they'd get the hint.

I'll safe keep the private keys with me and allow it for 1.5yrs or 2yrs, if nobody had moved the coins in it, even a bit of it, I'll start using it for charity.
But while waiting for 1.5yrs or 2 and I discovered that someone is spending from the fund whose private keys I'm holding, I'll remain mute and calm and allow the person use their coins.
But I don't think it's possible to see a random private keys.

[The Cryptovator]

If I found Bitcoin private keys loaded with Bitcoin, I don't see any other option but to donate. Something like this is unlikely to occur. Because someone else will lose their entire life savings. But, for the time being, I will not donate to charity. It's because even if a person loses his private keys or seed phrase, he may still have access to his wallet. It's possible he's been holding for a long time. For testing purposes, I would transfer some funds to alert him if he still has access. If he becomes aware and transfers his funds to another account, I will return the funds to the original address.

[lionheart78]

I suppose you could send a dollar's worth to a different address and hopefully they'd get the hint.

This is somehow tempting, I won't deny that there will be an urge for me to transfer all the funds to a different address just for "safekeeping"  .  Anyway, it is a good idea to send a dollar's worth to alarm the owner that his Bitcoin is compromised and at the same time report it, if ever after a year of no response happens, following what Loyce stated, it is legally ok to claim the amount in that key.  It is somehow unethical but not illegal due to the process is taken into consideration.

Sending it to charity when you have a need by yourself... sounds too good to be true, honestly. ... but it would be great if it is actually done.

[Broadanbig]

I really do not find it funny someone would careless misplace details of such huge asset. Well since OP talk based on assumption them it is better to assume that way. Let us say someone finds such, is expected is to make an announcement which I believe people will turn up to claim but there should be some measures or procedure put in place for claiming it. Anybody coming should be able to state some numbers and alphabet relating to the wallet and also some tokens found in the wallet too. This I think will yield some results.

[imamusma]

The first option that is fair in my opinion is to donate a portion of the contents of his wallet to anyone in need such as a charity or to those we know of people who deserve it. There are many poor people around, I get to know them and I tend to give priority to donations like this instead of entrusting people through any charity for their distribution.

But of course, I would wonder who owns it because the contents of the wallet are not entirely ours. There is one thing I believe, if we don't want to deal with other people's (unknown) property then ignore it or just donate it all.

[uneng]

I would keep it and wait. Of course the owner of the keys would come back to the place trying to recover his lost item or at least to ask someone if they have seen it. Or I could ask people around if they have seen who lost that. I think it's not too risky to make this question, because most people are illiterate about bitcoin, anyway. After a while, if all my attempts and expectations failed, I think it wouldn't be an issue if I claimed the lost coins for myself, as it would similar to finding lost cash on the floor of the streets.

[Furious 7]

It's difficult to make a decision in this case, but if indeed when we find someone else's key, I'm even doubtful about finding out who the owner is, moreover, we also can't make a report about finding it because surely many people will admit that.
I might put it on hold for a while and let it sit for a while as surely the owner will look into it and hopefully meet me but if not then I think maybe I will donate the portfolio it contains to some agency in need. Sounds a little naive but I really think it's for the best because I also realize that if I eat this and I transfer it to myself I think this is unethical especially I still believe in bad karma if I do something that is not good.

[wiss19]

I have been thinking of this same thing earlier. That what if I saw a piece of paper with a 12-word phrase written on it when I walk on the street? Not a crowded one or at the city but just near on my place because it seems peaceful here and I think not many people know about cryptos here.

I am thinking if I will return it to the real owner but how? Posting it on social media is going to be a bad idea because someone will just load the seeds and empty the wallet. Surrendering it on the police station or on the radio station looks like a bad idea as well because this isn't a typical wallet, plus some of them may not be really that trusted. I guess I will just keep them for now and wait if there are people who will look for it.

[I_Anime]

Definitely gonna take it. If He comes looking good job if He doesn't it's mine now

[seoincorporation]

I suppose you could send a dollar's worth to a different address and hopefully they'd get the hint.

I would send a message to the same address with a message on the transaction, that's a nice way to let someone know his key has been compromised without risking any amount with the transaction.

And the second step would be to google the key, maybe we can find some public information about the owner and try to contact him directly to let him know about the issue.

[famososMuertos]

Because the fair and moral action of what must be done has to change if it is bitcoin. Your principles should not change in action or process if you get something that does not belong to you, do what you think is right.

If generating Txs makes you happy and it's only fair, do it. But it is not good to play with things that you should not spend.

[hatshepsut93]

Really depends on the exact scenario of me finding keys.

Sweeping through common books' text for BIP39-based keys.

I'm not planning to search for someone's keys intentionally

If it happened unintentionally, like me going to a library and finding a note with a seed in a book, I'd try to find the owner of the keys. If I couldn't, I would keep the seed but not take the coins, in case the owner has a backup and is simply choosing not to touch the coins. Then after many-many years I would assume that the owner lost access, and since I couldn't find them, the coins are now mine.

[trendcoin]

This issue is a moral issue. Our beliefs, our culture, and our view of the world can answer this problem. So we can all have different answers... I would first take a symbolic amount of money from the wallet and then send the same amount back to the wallet. Thus, the owner of the wallet would understand that their funds were not safe and transfer their Bitcoins to another wallet. If he/she doesn't transfer their Bitcoins to another wallet, I would send clear messages from several social media platforms to be more careful. If I don't see any movement again, I think the wallet is unclaimed. As a last resort, I would be a little reluctant but after waiting a few years I would get the Bitcoins in the unclaimed wallet (I'm ashamed to confess it).

[glendall]

I will not use what is not mine, because I'm sure karma will come back to me later, and someday it will come back to me because of our behavior in the past

[Kryptowerk]

What would you do

I'm more curious how this works legally: with "normal" found objects, you have to report it. If nobody picks it up within a year, you become the new owner.
With crypto, you basically find data, and the original owner can still have a backup. I've never seen a legal case about this.

Interesting thoughts. Not at all legal advice, just based on (my own) logic, I would say this is quite similar to finding a house with doors and windows wide open.
Even if you see gold coins glittering inside, you have no right to enter or take anything. You probably don't have any legal obligations to report such a finding (glittery goldcoins in an openly accessible unsecured house) but good manners (or call it moral standards) would suggest you should probably report it to police if you can't contact the owner directly.

[D ltr]

I will not use what is not mine, because I'm sure karma will come back to me later, and someday it will come back to me because of our behavior in the past

that's true, what is not our right is not very good to use because we don't know if the owner is still there or not, still needs or not the assets he owns
let the assets be in place forever

[Yatsan]

Easy to say things related to 'returning it to the owner' but that won't be easy for sure unless there are IDs perhaps in a wallet or just something which would help you to identify its owner. Morally this is the best thing to do but not giving it back if there are no identification is also fine. It just depends on your eagerness to help and if you're not that interested to do so, no one could push you. But to how I see such things, I'll never wish to experience it so for sure I would be returning it to the owner  as my pure intention. If there will be no identification information, I'd wait for communities to reach me out (facebook crypto groups). If I won't be posting the concern or announcing it but there are people who'd somehow ask for what happened, then that could be an indicator that he/she is the owner.

[n0ne]

Surely I'll find the ways to return it to the real owner. If someone have been found and identified as the right one, I'll give the keys. If not, this will be shared between friends. Because someone have earned and person who doesn't have any connect enjoying it is really bad.