Will You Return Hardware Wallet That Contains 3+ BTC in a Hotel Room?

[Ayebabara]

The topic has said everything so I want to know the different opinions from forum users. I have done the physical interview with some people and I have seen the different mindsets of people for seen money on the floor or somewhere in their working places.
There was a story in my locality this week. A woman who is working in a hotel, found $70,000 in hotel room she working and with her good heart, she returns the money to the customer. Now the question other people asked was if the didn't know the person what she would have done?

If you were in the woman's shoe, what would you do? Or if you see such amount as bitcoin in your working place with the seed phrase in aseed plate, what will you do? And probably you know the person and there is no way to locate the person. But if I am the one, I will also do the same as the woman and if I don't know the person and I can't locate the person, I will take to the nearest Radio or Television Stations for Broadcasting, or if any of the above can not be found in the locality then I will handover them to the police.

Good Name is Better Than Silver and Gold

I love my Name to be good

[Zaguru12]

Morally yes it is right to return something that doesn’t belong to you. Then secondly the comparison between a lost money and a lost hardware wallet is way different. You can easily spend the money.

But for hardware wallet you can’t access the funds on it considering the fact that it is most at times locked with pins or biometrics. Also spending from them requires your private keys.

Holding onto the hardware wallet is also just useless because with a recovery seed, the owner can easily recover is funds on a new one. So definitely returning it saves more stress.

[AmoreJaz]

Morally yes it is right to return something that doesn’t belong to you. Then secondly the comparison between a lost money and a lost hardware wallet is way different. You can easily spend the money.

But for hardware wallet you can’t access the funds on it considering the fact that it is most at times locked with pins or biometrics. Also spending from them requires your private keys.

Holding onto the hardware wallet is also just useless because with a recovery seed, the owner can easily recover is funds on a new one. So definitely returning it saves more stress.

and with the hardware wallet, you have better chance of finding the owner rather than cracking the keys of that wallet. and you have moral obligation on this situation, that is, if you are that kind of person who value the morality. whether a hardware wallet or a physical one, returning to the owner is the right thing to do. now, this act depends on how the person has been brought up and how he deals with situation like this. you can't expect everyone to do the right thing when they feel they have something to gain.

[Stalker22]

How would you know that there are 3BTC on the hardware wallet? Zaguru12 made a good point, those HW wallets are always locked with extra passwords and other security mechanisms. So even if you were tempted, you would not be able to access the funds. The only thing worth keeping would be the hardware wallet itself. The right thing to do would be to give it back to the owner, and who knows, they might even give you a little something as a reward!

[Ayebabara]

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Sorry the seed phrase was also found in the bag with the wallet and there is a possibility that you can transfer the coins to any other wallet. But morality can allow you to do that?

[Hatchy]

What you are asking, is illogical indesence that it's not possible to pick btc from the floor. And if you do, you probably won't have access to it as it would be secure using passcodes and other security measures.You might not even have an idea of what a hardware wallets might be at that time except you are also a bitcoiner.

Sorry the seed phrase was also found in the bag with the wallet and there is a possibility that you can transfer the coins to any other wallet. But morality can allow you to do that?

Wow, the person would just be so unreasonable and walk around with their seed phrase. Look I get what you are trying to say here, but As I said before, it's illogical

Practically, it is adviced to return something that isn't yours or rather just leave it maybe the owner might come looking for it. But let's be realistic and cut the crap. I don't think most people would see  money on the floor and just leave it there or even think about looking for it's owner. That would be their last taught.

[ethrhinoceros]

Finding a hardware wallet with 3 BTC is like hitting the crypto jackpot... only if you have the password and backup seeds.

[Zaguru12]

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Sorry the seed phrase was also found in the bag with the wallet and there is a possibility that you can transfer the coins to any other wallet. But morality can allow you to do that?

Right now this is fiction because no one will be that dump to hold to such amount and just move around with the seed like that. Also there could a passphrase too. But nonetheless it is just not morally right to keep what doesn’t belong to you

[jeraldskie11]

Because we are not in his situation, it is easy to suggest that you will return the seed phrase if he unintentionally loses it. Most of the time, if a person finds something, even if it is small, they will not return it. How much more if you discovered something that will make you rich quickly, allowing you to quit your work and create your own home. Some people simply return the items they find since they know they can be traced. We all know what to do in that scenario, and there are still nice individuals who will return what they found; I hope we remain true to ourselves.

[Cantsay]

Sorry the seed phrase was also found in the bag with the wallet and there is a possibility that you can transfer the coins to any other wallet. But morality can allow you to do that?

I don't see anything productive coming from this post aside from the fact that forum members will start confessing or answering to a crime they never committed or that has no possibility of happening.

Just like others have said this is just a fiction and the answers you'll get will also be fictional. On what world will a hardware wallet owner keep his or her passcode inside a bag with his wallet? If they will be negligent like that then what's the essence of getting a hardware wallet in the first place? Please dude wake up to reality and ask questions like someone who truly is in this reality.

[DoublerHunter]

~snip~
I love my Name to be good

^It is good to be a good Samaritan.
As we always heard this (Be honest, even if others are not, even if others will not, and even if others cannot) that was probably the reason this story why the girl returned that big amount. Just considering the hypothetical situation of being in her shoes or finding a significant amount like BTC with the seed phrase, I would also aim to act with honesty and integrity. If I know the rightful owner and there's no way to locate them, I would make every effort to return the money or assets to them, even resorting to using media channels like Radio or TV if necessary. If all else fails, handing it over to the police would be the right thing to do, ensuring that the rightful owner has the best chance of reclaiming their property. Because for me, honesty and doing what is right should guide our actions in such situations.

[nelson4lov]

Because we are not in his situation, it is easy to suggest that you will return the seed phrase if he unintentionally loses it. Most of the time, if a person finds something, even if it is small, they will not return it. How much more if you discovered something that will make you rich quickly, allowing you to quit your work and create your own home. Some people simply return the items they find since they know they can be traced. We all know what to do in that scenario, and there are still nice individuals who will return what they found; I hope we remain true to ourselves.

I beg to differ. There are still plenty of good people in the world today. Not to brag but I was an active user of a crypto project (in DeFi) where a small set of users including me were able to withdraw more than we deposited. This was unintended and a week later, the team reached out and got it returned to them as soon as I could. I ended up getting a bounty from the  exploited amount and although it was no where near the full exploit amount but the satisfaction I got from it, was worth it and I enjoyed the experience.

I have read about plenty of situations like this and some times (not all times), the lost item/amount is returned.

[decodx]

I also don't see the purpose of this topic. Most people will of course say that they would return the wallet to the owner (if they know who it is) and no one will admit that they would keep the money for themselves. But we all know that's not true. If you have ever been in a situation or know someone who has lost a wallet with personal documents and money, you know that only in very rare situations does an honest finder contact the owner. True, there are still honest people in the world, but my experience is that people are mostly selfish and greedy.

I honestly don't know what I would do because I simply cannot imagine myself in such a situation. That whole imaginary scenario sounds too unreal to me. No normal person would actually carry a hardware wallet along with its recovery seed, so it's pointless to even talk about this kind of situation.

[seoincorporation]

I would give them back only if I can find the real owner of the wallet, I mean, I wouldn't give it to the Hotel staff unless they ask for it.

And to be honest is a fun topic, what kind of people leaves close to $100k in the hotel, I think that's nonsense, if any of us travels with that amount of bitcoin for sure we would have them with us all time, or at least leave it in a place that we know they are save.

[Wimex]

It is an interesting question….and it is mainly based on a controversy of principles, from what our parents taught us as children, perhaps for some, not returning money that was found is something normal and does not have any weight, but for the person who lost his money he can take it as a lack of morals, especially if this individual who took what was not his realized who was harmed, so depending on the circumstances in which the situation arises, conclusions can be drawn in this regard.

 For my part, there are different scenarios in which I would act reasonably without attacking my principles:

1-If I saw the person: I would immediately follow them and hand it over without thinking.
2-If I know the person: I would do exactly the same as in the previous point, I would try to communicate and express to him that I have something that belongs to him.
3-If I never saw the person and the money was simply there without any type of identification with which I can do something: I would simply take it, of course if this happens on the street, because if it is in an establishment, I would look for a way to deliver it.
4- If suddenly I get it and someone comes looking for what they lost, I would deliver it in its entirety.

You have to be honest and contribute to a better world, if you take something and you can have the opportunity to return it, it is best that you do so.

[Helena Yu]

Every human is greedy, if there's an opportunity to get more money, every people will try it even you need to use a dirty way. $70,000 is huge, but it doesn't mean there's no one want to bring back the hardware wallet to the holder. It depends on how much the money you've make and how your wealth, if you make good amount of money and already have a good life, this kind people will return the hardware wallet.

Now, how much you make monthly and how much your monthly spend?

[pooya87]

Not returning someone else's money you've found is stealing in my books, so obviously I'd return such a thing but most importantly I don't want others to do something like this to me (not return my money if I lose it some day) so I don't do it to others.

[xSkylarx]

No matter what, you should always return it, even if it is a small or big amount, because the owner of it is really struggling to earn it. Also, with regards to the hardware wallet, it is impossible to know how much is in there if you don't have the private key or seed phrase, meaning you need to open it first before knowing if there are bitcoins there. But again, no matter what, do your best to find the owner of it; if not, give it to the most responsible authorities.

[OcTradism]

There was a story in my locality this week. A woman who is working in a hotel, found $70,000 in hotel room she working and with her good heart, she returns the money to the customer. Now the question other people asked was if the didn't know the person what she would have done?

If you were in the woman's shoe, what would you do?

It must not be a Bitcoin story but can be anything else.

Good people will return any asset they found even that asset has value like a fortune with them. Such stories are not too rare in life and I believe you already read such stories some times in your life. So this Bitcoin story and your question is not necessary. The answer is obvious, if she is a good person, she will find ways to return Bitcoin to the victim but if she is morally bad, she will steal it and keep silent even if the victim asks her about that.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

In this type of situation, you would have to see what the person does in the real situation, because you may say you would return it and if you were in that situation you would not do it. For my part, I have given money back but they were much smaller amounts. I think I would do like the OP, but you never know. If I didn't know who the owner was and I really needed the money I might be tempted.