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

[bitzizzix]

If it were me, this would be a long thought for me. Do I have to return it, and I won't, because I think the original owner must have kept the seed phrase in reserve.
and I will keep it in a safe place and I will always check at any time whether the bitcoin nominal is still intact or not and this will be done in the long term, while waiting for developments whether the person is looking for it or not. And if it's been years with no progress in the number of bitcoins and information from their owners, I consider it my luck.

[BD Crypto]

This topic is totally based on imagination and I think this is never going to happen specially losing hardware wallets and at the same time backup phrase. I never think anyone will bear his phrase in the hotel and there will be extra layer authentication obviously like pin code or passwords. If someone unfortunately lose his backup phrase in the hotel then he must have another backup obviously because he knows how important it is.

So unfortunately in my POV this is just an imagination and nothing going to happen like his. So we could make this discussion bigger but the output will be zero.In my case I will wait for the real owner because he might remember now and searching it. So he will obviously come to the hotel again. If it not happens then I will inform to Hotel management and submit to the police. So that if someone search it can easily get return with providing proper proofs.

[Kakmakr]

I believe the "Good" that you do, will come back to you. Imagine that women decided to keep the wallet and her employer decided to to test her honesty by "planting" that wallet in the room.... she would have lost her job, if she decided not to return it.

There are always some kind of consequences for our actions, so I think positive actions ....bring positive consequences. The employer might have given her a raise in her salary, if she was honest and he felt that he could trust her.   (The owner of the wallet could even have given her a large reward for her honesty)

[worle1bm]

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?

Now that sounds strange to me as why would anyone carry their seeds phrases with them while travelling and just put them in a bag which have high chances of getting lost ? But still if you have found the bag humanity says you should return it to the owner because don't know how much they need it or have saved their income with hard work so you should not keep it being greedy.

[sesterceshop]

That depends. Do I get to keep the Bitcoin? If yes, then sure, I’ll return the hardware wallet. If no, then sorry, I’ll have to keep it as a souvenir. 😜

[FinneysTrueVision]

$70,000 in cash would be hard to keep hidden. Hotels usually have surveillance cameras throughout the building so it wouldn't be too hard to narrow down a list of suspects to determine who took the money. The same thing applies when we are dealing with someone's seed phrase. If you are in a located in a place that is being surveilled and there are many people around the odds of getting away with it are low so you are better off returning it to the original owner.

[Faisal2202]

If i would find that money then i will have some thoughts about it. Like, what if the money is not legal? If it proved to be illegal then i am stuck with it i can not use it. I will be the one considered guilty behind it. Second, i could not take it to the police station either the money is in Fiat or in BTC. Why? legality of the fiat can not be proved and BTC is not legal in my country so that's not an option.

I might take the HW with seed phrase with me because by carrying them with me at least on one will find me or could track me. So, if the owner is legit he/she will be back and when they will be back i will investigate him/her with my friends maybe who are in legal firms. Or maybe with a lawyer.

Then i might bring the device to the police too. Because now i have the proof that someone came back for his/her money. I will be careful with such big amount of money because i will be the one questioned by authorities not the ones owning it. (If it's illegal).

[ImThour]

I would return it to the actual owner who proves me the ownership of the hardware wallet as I cannot access it by anyway unless I am a professional hacker.
As I can't access it, the wallet is basically worthless for me. Instead by returning, I can atleast get a small tip from the owner if he's generous enough.

Also, do you realize that you can use the private key and buy a new hardware wallet and import the account there? So I fail to understand why this is a discussion.

[michellee]

If I know who owns it, I will hand it over to the owner. If not, I will keep it for a while and tell the hotel manager where I work that I found the Bitcoin wallet. And if, after a few days, no one notices the loss of the Bitcoin wallet, I will probably go to the radio or television station to broadcast the news. And if nothing is missing, I'll turn them over to the police.

It is unlikely that someone will randomly put the seed phrase from the Bitcoin wallet because at least he already knows how to keep it from other people. Maybe for his Bitcoin wallet, he forgot to save it, so it's normal for it to happen.

But it's up to people what their reaction will be when they come across something that isn't theirs. But they should have returned it to the owner because it didn't belong to them. But some people want to have something, especially if they find it in a public place. This concerns one's morals and the temptation to have one is there.

[EarnOnVictor]

If it were me, this would be a long thought for me. Do I have to return it, and I won't, because I think the original owner must have kept the seed phrase in reserve.
and I will keep it in a safe place and I will always check at any time whether the bitcoin nominal is still intact or not and this will be done in the long term, while waiting for developments whether the person is looking for it or not. And if it's been years with no progress in the number of bitcoins and information from their owners, I consider it my luck.

I can't help but laugh in Chinese here, it's not so kind to keep what is not yours, it's just gross. If I was you, I will either leave it and go my way as if I never saw it or call the attention of the hotel management to it.

What is not yours is not yours, you can do well by avoiding Karma by doing the right thing. A true man would work for his money.

[Dictator69]

No i will not return it to the owner.  just kidding. But 3+ BTC is a huge amount and it is enough to make someone greedy. Even a man with solid morality. But still, there are good people like the one in your example I am talking about maid. She must have a big heart to do that. Because making daily earning must not be easy and even in all that problematic life she choses not to take that much amount.

Which might help her out. But still she chooses the right path so i think i should also chose the right path. If the 3+ BTC is best for me then giving them back to the owner is much better than that. But, i know, not in this world, i am going to face such situation. maybe in my imagination world but in this world. So, i should not think about it that much neither you should.

[Husires]

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.

There is a big difference between hardware wallets, in which the average person cannot access your money by owning the device only, as he needs to know the PIN or seek the help of professional hackers that may not be able to recover your coins, while in seeds, you have access to those coins, and they become yours if the user does not withdraw his money quickly.

The problem lies in how to determine the person's ownership of those coins, often people do not keep records of their purchase of their coins or they will need some time to verify them.

If the opposite happens, the best advice is to keep the seeds nearby so that you can send coins quickly.

[bitterguy28]

She cannot actually hide that amount because surely there will be a thorough investigation and truth will prevail , meaning I am not questioning that person's act but it gave her some doubts of hiding and keeping that amount.

Maybe better to ask if she found that amount in a place where no one can find the truth and there what would be her action.

__________________________________

Also this is different from your question because if we are talking about hardware wallet in which there is a Bitcoin in there? then that is a different story.

though for me , keeping someone's money is like taking them away from them so Stealing it is and I will never come to take that funds.

[CryptSafe]

A good name is better than being noted for wrong reasons. I prefer writing my name with a golden pen on a golden book for such reason of me being good.

OP I would gladly and happily return it back to whom ever owns it if I know them otherwise I would make a public announcement for anyone coming to claim it to be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt if they are the true owners of the hardware. What belongs to another is not your own and can never be your own. I think it is bad holding back in your possession what belongs to another for greedy reasons.

[retreat]

The case of finding money in a hotel room and Bitcoin in the wallet seems irrelevant, because unlike cash, you cannot directly use Bitcoin in the hardwallet. No matter how hard you hack into it, it won't work. So the best thing is that you can return it to its owner, maybe you can get a hefty reward for your kindness.

[Solosanz]

I would return it, why? hotel is full of hidden camera and you're already leave your personal information on there, so if I steal his hardware wallet and Bitcoin, I would become wanted person by the police. It's not anonymous and I risking my life for $70,000, it's no for me since sooner or later the police will find you.

However the best way to return the hardware wallet when the owner able to sign a message, if not then it's not the owner.

[Z390]

You can have the answer if you take a minute and think about, what if your BITCOIN is lost and someone else find it before you, how will you feel? People like taking advantage of the present situation if it favours them, they don't think about the other person that the favor isn't favoring, the world is full of greedy and mean people.

If I find myself in such situation I will return it back to the owner, it's not mine its someone else's sweat and blood, im not going to swallow that and pretend like nothing happened, there is karma and you will lost something more daring to you with no chance of getting return back to you, mother earth is in a round form and I slowly turns around every time, that means that in this life what goes around will come back around to the good and the bad people.

[CarnagexD]

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

When you got into this kind of situation, I'm pretty sure that experience will leave a battleground on one's mind. Like a battle of doing what is morally right or doing what is practically best for your situation.
If I keep it for my own good, well that's a lot of money is it? I can buy almost whatever I want. But my conscience will haunt me for a lifetime. Trying my best to give it back to the original owner may sound stupid but it is the best and morally right thing to do.

I think the thing here is unless the original owner cannot be found, then you can have it to be yours.

[hugeblack]

I do not know, but in my country there is a reward for obtaining 5% of the value of deposits if you hand them over to the police or return them to their owner, and if these products are illegal, for example money used in money laundering, then that percentage will be given to you after confiscation.
Therefore, if I were in his position, the best is 5% guaranteed with expressions of thanks, rather than wasting my life and my family because of 3 bitcoins that could end me in prison.

[sunsilk]

I have felt the feeling of losing something important and I've got that thought and understanding of how it feels for that person to lose that amount and that could be his entire life savings.

But there's this thought of mine that I should return it to the rightful people if the owner is nowhere to be found. Like I'll hand it over to the police or if there's no police visibility, to the right people where they'll hand it over to the actual of owner of it.

That's why for those that have felt and experienced losing something and then some good people have returned it, you know what to do but to do the right thing and do the favor.