Don't write down your Bitcoin wallet seed phrases like Clifton Collins.

[KawasakiNinja1_]

You probably already know what I'm talking about by looking at the title of my post, in fact, there has been a lot of discussion on this forum about seed phrases and their security. However, now we have noticed that an Irish operation has uncovered the mystery of a deactivated Bitcoin wallet.
In fact, I noticed through this news that Clifton Collins, a resident of Dublin, bought 6,000 Bitcoins between 2011 and 2012, but we may be surprised to hear where the money to buy these Bitcoins came from because he bought so much Bitcoin with that money by trading illegal marijuana and he divided them into twelve wallets.

Besides the biggest mistake he made was writing down the seed phrases for his wallet in a notebook and putting them inside the fishing rod box he kept at home. Maybe we shouldn't make the same mistake he did, because after this man's arrest, his house was emptied, which resulted in those wallets being deactivated or lost.

So friends, to keep your seed phrase safe, use the metal backup instead of writing it down on paper.

Clifton Collins was once reported to have written his Bitcoin private keys on paper.

When his house was cleared out, the paper was thrown away, and he lost access to 6,000 $BTC($423.5M).

Now, it seems the lost keys may have been found — or maybe not all of the $BTC was lost.

After 10 years of inactivity, a wallet labeled "Clifton Collins: Lost Keys" just sent 500 $BTC($35.44M) to #CoinbasePrime.

Clifton Collins Bitcoin Dormant Wallet Moves After Year https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-currency-news/clifton-collins-bitcoin-dormant-wallet-news

[Charles-Tim]

Besides the biggest mistake he made was writing down the seed phrases for his wallet in a notebook and putting them inside the fishing rod box he kept at home. Maybe we shouldn't make the same mistake he did, because after this man's arrest, his house was emptied, which resulted in those wallets being deactivated or lost.

Just know that Clifton Collins may not be telling the truth but just told the police the part they want to hear and which might be lies. Some people selling cultivating marijuana may think that it is their money and they worked for it. He may do all possible means that will not let the police know where he kept the seed phrase.

[SatoPrincess]

Just know that Clifton Collins may not be telling the truth but just told the police the part they want to hear and which might be lies. Some people selling cultivating marijuana may think that it is their money and they worked for it. He may do all possible means that will not let the police know where he kept the seed phrase.

Yes it’s possible he still has a backup somewhere and doesn’t want to share that information with the authorities. He may get away with it now but I believe those wallets are on a watchlist and if they ever become active, the police will come for him.

[Alpha Marine]

I don't see a problem with writing your seed phrase on paper. What should be done is to have backups. Meaning, the secret phrase shouldn't be in only one place. There should be at least two or three backups in different secure locations. The problem with this story is not that he wrote it on paper, it's that he didn't have backup. But I doubt that since the link shows that some of the coins have been moved to Coinbase, meaning it was moved to be traded. It looks like he claimed the seed phrases are missing just to get the authorities off his back.

but the moral of this story is not that you don't need to write down your seed phrase on paper, but that you shouldn't break the law and sell marijuana.

Exactly.
If he had not gotten the money illegally, he wouldn't have had to deal with these issues in the first place.

[Charles-Tim]

Yes it’s possible he still has a backup somewhere and doesn’t want to share that information with the authorities. He may get away with it now but I believe those wallets are on a watchlist and if they ever become active, the police will come for him.

According to this information, the money was sent to Coinbase but it has been seized already by the government. That means the police are tracking the coins. If the person sent another one to another exchange or address, that will make the police know about it and can make the person face any allegations. It is very possible that those coins will be worthless, at least for now as the person will not be able to spend the coins.

[lovesmayfamilis]

I don't see a problem with writing your seed phrase on paper. What should be done is to have backups. Meaning, the secret phrase shouldn't be in only one place. There should be at least two or three backups in different secure locations. The problem with this story is not that he wrote it on paper, it's that he didn't have backup. But I doubt that since the link shows that some of the coins have been moved to Coinbase, meaning it was moved to be traded. It looks like he claimed the seed phrases are missing just to get the authorities off his back.

Similarly, his problem is that he earned money by selling marijuana. How many people who bought bitcoins for a large amount at that time but did not do anything that could attract the attention of the police wrote down their seed phrase and safely made a profit? We may not know everyone by name, but the moral of this story is not that you don't need to write down your seed phrase on paper, but that you shouldn't break the law and sell marijuana.

[promise444c5]

~

According to this information, the money was sent to Coinbase but it has been seized already by the government. That means the police are tracking the coins. If the person sent another one to another exchange or address, that will make the police know about it and can make the person face any allegations. It is very possible that those coins will be worthless, at least for now as the person will not be able to spend the coins.

I don’t think he will be that dumb to be moving it directly to an Cexchange because  he already knows it will be seized, unless he just use that as a way to create confusion.. it’s just 500 out of 6, 000BTC he still has 5500.

Drug dealers are smarter than that, if the current owner of the keys keeps sending to a CEX then it could be just a random dude that found the seed or one of the many seed since it’s splitted to 12 wallets[thats 500BTC/wallet] and he thought of cashing it out instantly.

[KiaKia]

So you expect him to tell them where he kept the recovery seeds? That's a stupid criminal if he does such, the best thing he can do is lying about it all.

I don't feel pity for him, the bitcoin wasn't from his sweat, the money is ill gotten, so I don't care if he truly lost the bitcoin or not, mind you I have always wrote down my recovery seed in a book and if has never got leaked for once.

This person knew the business he is into, that Bitcoin wallet seed recovery shouldn't be kept in his home at all, since he is a criminal and the chances that cops will come searching is vey high. They will turn everything upside down to find a clue.

[Hatchy]

Besides the biggest mistake he made was writing down the seed phrases for his wallet in a notebook and putting them inside the fishing rod box he kept at home. Maybe we shouldn't make the same mistake he did, because after this man's arrest, his house was emptied, which resulted in those wallets being deactivated or lost.

Just know that Clifton Collins may not be telling the truth but just told the police the part they want to hear and which might be lies. Some people selling cultivating marijuana may think that it is their money and they worked for it. He may do all possible means that will not let the police know where he kept the seed phrase.

I was actually thinking about this as well. Criminals are smarter than we think. He might have exposed some part of his wealth to the authorities to get them off his tails. Who would be dump keeping millions of dollars seedphrase written in a note book kept in a box that would definitely call for attention? I don't really know the lesson from this post because op is not passing any message here at all. It's like telling people to steal and make sure to hide their stolen funds properly.

Using paper to store your keys isn't an issue and it's one of the most reliable methods out there. Maybe the lesson here should be, not being a dummy if you have something hiding under your skin..

[Charles-Tim]

I was actually thinking about this as well. Criminals are smarter than we think. He might have exposed some part of his wealth to the authorities to get them off his tails.

I do not like how the man is called criminal. He is only cultivating marijuana and selling it. There are some states in United States like California that allow that and also there are some countries that legalized it. It would have been better for the news to let people know what he did wrong than just calling him a criminal. Although, cultivating marijuana in Ireland is a criminal offense.

Using paper to store your keys isn't an issue and it's one of the most reliable methods out there. Maybe the lesson here should be, not being a dummy if you have something hiding under your skin..

Paper backups are still the easiest and still reliable. Some people think stainless steel or titanium backups are better, but there is no one among them that does not have their own cons. I still use the paper backup but I make sure I do it in a way that I will not lose the seed phrase. Although, I do not against the stainless steel and Titanium backup because they are resistant to high temperature.

Yes, that guy did not lose that seed phrase. It wa just a lie. Or maybe he lost it but have other backups which is something that is very important to do.

[Die_empty]

I do not like how the man is called criminal. He is only cultivating marijuana and selling it. There are some states in United States like California that allow that and also there are some countries that legalized it. It would have been better for the news to let people know what he did wrong than just calling him a criminal. Although, cultivating marijuana in Ireland is a criminal offense.

The cultivation and use of cannabis is illegal in Dublin, Ireland. In the US, Clifton Collins might not be called a criminal. Since he committed the crime in Dublin, he is an ex-convict and can be called a criminal.

Paper backups are still the easiest and still reliable. Some people think stainless steel or titanium backups are better, but there is no one among them that does not have their own cons. I still use the paper backup but I make sure I do it in a way that I will not lose the seed phrase. Although, I do not against the stainless steel and Titanium backup because they are resistant to high temperature.

Yes, that guy did not lose that seed phrase. It wa just a lie. Or maybe he lost it but have other backups which is something that is very important to do.

Stainless steel and titanium backup are recommended due to their durability and ability to withstand harsh conditions like fire outbreaks, flooding, etc. However, engraving is not as easy as writing on paper. Keeping paper backup in more than one location is still okay.

[notocactus]

we may be surprised to hear where the money to buy these Bitcoins came from because he bought so much Bitcoin with that money by trading illegal marijuana and he divided them into twelve wallets.

If a person, in this case the man, used illegal money for buying bitcoins, his bitcoins have risk of seizures in the future by governments. It's only matter of time when his illegal money is detected by governments and after that, his bitcoins will be under risk of seizure by governments too.

Besides the biggest mistake he made was writing down the seed phrases for his wallet in a notebook and putting them inside the fishing rod box he kept at home. Maybe we shouldn't make the same mistake he did, because after this man's arrest, his house was emptied, which resulted in those wallets being deactivated or lost.

Perhaps he thought that fishing rod box is a safe place to store his wallet backups as he thought police won't notice it but who knows. In addition, if you think this man should store his wallet backups in his house but in another places, inside something else, do you think that police will not find it?

I think your concern does not make sense at all. Police will not likely miss it no matter where the man stored his wallet backups.

I only agree that wallet backups need to be stored safely and securely but where and which tools used for this purpose, it's individual choice.

The similar way of storing wallets by James Zhong.
$3.36 Billion in Bitcoin Seized from Silk Road Hacker.

Agents raided Zhong’s Gainesville, Georgia home in November 2021, finding 50,491 Bitcoin on devices hidden in a floor safe and, on the lower end of Zhong’s security measures, inside of a popcorn tin stuffed under blankets.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

That will make use of a non-custodial storage for our asset in cryptocurrency does not guarantee the safety required except we have been privacy conscious, this goes along way with how we prevent any other person from having access to the storage medium we use, because once we feel in how we still our Private keys or seed phrase, then every efforts rendered in making use of a non-custodial storage has failed and go void.

[Pablo-wood]

If it was a metal backup he would have lost the seed phrase as well since thehouse was emptied. The mistake here is not having the seed phrase saved in multiple locations offline either on a paper or a metallic backup. This rather a case of careless and negligence, if he truly understood the risk of losing those phrases in a case of raid he might have had multiple storage locations for the seed phase knowing too well it can't be recovered if lost.

[rat03gopoh]

Let's say this story is true, if he wasn't a criminal, his seed backup would probably be fine. A normal user would have no reason to panic-empty their home and knowingly throw away what they believe to be evidence of a crime.

However, if moving it to a safer location is what "throwing away" really means in this story, I think it's a smart decision.

[Awaklara]

If it was a metal backup he would have lost the seed phrase as well since thehouse was emptied. The mistake here is not having the seed phrase saved in multiple locations offline either on a paper or a metallic backup. This rather a case of careless and negligence, if he truly understood the risk of losing those phrases in a case of raid he might have had multiple storage locations for the seed phase knowing too well it can't be recovered if lost.

He might just be lying about losing the seed phrases. Keeping them in several places will not save the Bitcoin he stores. He is a criminal, everything he does is certainly monitored. When the funds move to an exchange, everything can be frozen and seized. Keeping them in several places might be good, even if only storing them in one or two places on paper. If you are an ordinary person who does not publish your holdings, you will remain calm.

[ArielRod20]

sent to #CoinbasePrime so police cant find who is this guy is?

it should be kyced account.

[Felicity_Tide]

So friends, to keep your seed phrase safe, use the metal backup instead of writing it down on paper.

The story is quite interesting, but the whole idea of metal backup would have ended the same as the notebook.
His choice of backup wasn't the actual problem, but the problem was the location. Ideally, your home ought to be safe, but judging by the circumstances _{(which he was arrested)}, anyone can actually lose their items in a similar situation especially when the house is emptied by the government or actual property owners.

That aside, from what I could gather, there is a speculation that the Irish police are likely behind that particular tx, but it hasn't been confirmed by them, so I guess there is a chance that the actual owner still has access. For someone who was smart enough to split money in that manner as at 2011-12, I think he would also be smart enough to not inform the cops. And don't we think that if the police had discovered it back in 2017 after his arrest, they would have sold it long before now?. I might be wrong though, but that's what I think.

[Big Dirams]

I don't see a problem with writing your seed phrase on paper. What should be done is to have backups. Meaning, the secret phrase shouldn't be in only one place. There should be at least two or three backups in different secure locations. The problem with this story is not that he wrote it on paper, it's that he didn't have backup. But I doubt that since the link shows that some of the coins have been moved to Coinbase, meaning it was moved to be traded. It looks like he claimed the seed phrases are missing just to get the authorities off his back.

Honestly, many of us in this forum and many other people within part of the world that are absolutely involved in cryptocurrency does actually store their seed phrase same way Clifton Collins did which is by writing it on paper and keeping them safe. Storing our seed phrase on paper and storing them in a secured place is a positive idea. whereas, the OP suggestion about storing our seed phrase with metal backup is a positive suggestion but most reachable storing is just by writing down our seed phrase in multiple paper and store them in different locations just as you said.

  However, I’m not convinced with Clifton information about misplacing  the seed phrase, of course no matter who it is that is involved in such negative act we wouldn’t want to spend much time in jail or even ending up in jail and still coming out meeting nothing that so disturbing. He might probably know the seed phrase locations but doesn’t want to give them up.

[EluguHcman]

Besides the biggest mistake he made was writing down the seed phrases for his wallet in a notebook and putting them inside the fishing rod box he kept at home. Maybe we shouldn't make the same mistake he did, because after this man's arrest, his house was emptied, which resulted in those wallets being deactivated or lost.

Just know that Clifton Collins may not be telling the truth but just told the police the part they want to hear and which might be lies. Some people selling cultivating marijuana may think that it is their money and they worked for it. He may do all possible means that will not let the police know where he kept the seed phrase.

You are absolutely right, it could be true that the wallet rightful owner was not telling the agents the truth of how goes about his wallets seed phrase for the security of his own interest.
Of course he broke the regulatory policy of the government with his engagements on the illegal marijuana business which lead to the security invasion of his house.

If you ask me, I won't bother about how he stored the seed phrase and whether the wallets goes dormant.
I am muchly appreciating the fact the agencies does not recover the Bitoin because it would add no value to the public. Let us also not be convinced about the Bitcoin reserve, most of those recovered funds are siphoned.

Also hail the essence of  using crypto and Decentralized wallets that gives absolute full self custodian of Privacies.