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How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

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Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#51
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

except it is possibly a grey area, the contracts are written such that extracting the money is only possible if you fulfill the contract, if you find a loophole and fullfill the contract and take the money did you really steal it?

With the usual caveats (IANAL, this may vary per country/jurisdiction) laws and contracts are usually about intent, not pure semantics. And you'd probably have a hard time to argue that this way of 'fulfilling' the contract was the intended way.

I understand that contracts are usually written this way but an ethereum smart contract is a different kettle of fish. It is written to be a program so if you can get the program to respond to your inputs then you have fulfilled the requirements of the smart contract as it was written. Of course it may be that it was poorly worded but that is an issue for the contract writer.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#52

Are you really untraceable if you switch from ETH to BTC and then to dollars or euros? I don't really know how Ethereum works, but if every transaction is recorded, whichever exchange he used would have the origin ETH and destination BTC wallets and whichever bank account it's going to, wouldn't it? I would appreciate some insight on that.

if you switch between networks you suddenly no longer have a transparent transaction. Mind you, the details of the transaction (i.e. which account BTC the ETH was converted into) can be retrieved, but not without some effort and paperwork from authorities. If you say, split up the ETH and tumble it into a number of smaller wallets, transfer it to BTC with a bunch of seperate accounts and/or exchanges, and then tumble…

>if it ends up in a number of smaller BTC wallets, you also have to now prove that those wallets are all owned by the same person and not just a bunch of wallets owned by seperate people who happened to have a total of x amount of BTC adding up to roughly the equivalent value in ETH minus transaction fees.

This could be considered handling stolen goods, and could be prosectuable. Anyone who has access to the private keys that have been involved could potentially be considered an accessory (provided they have spent them and not reported the transaction).

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#53
post #16

I think the key to understanding this article is this: > But Mitch, isn’t this wrong? No. Let's suppose the hacker really did feel no remorse for stealing 153k Ether then it seems they might not feel it necessary to keep their identity hidden. They might also feel proud enough that they feel it is worth the risk to publicly disclose their actions. Given that, it seems that perhaps some of what the author wrote might…

I thought the whole point was you don't need ethics or any of that old boring stuff, the contracts payout once they are filled. Or I guess, when computers have been sufficiently convinced the contracts were filled.

I think people need to decide- do you really want that? Do you really want the decentralized, machine-consensus-based decision making or do you want courts and banks? If the former, you had better make sure those computers will do what you expect them to. Because the computers just do what they're told. They can't read minds.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#54
post #4

So, is this an admission? Or a theoretical? Or only part of the story? Is the writer using a pseudonym?

I agree this reads like fiction, and it would be idiotic to admit it. If real, the people he stole from may be even less ethical than he is (and they must have noticed the ETH were gone, and at what time). This could paint him as a murder target, a position I wouldn't want to be in...

They must be very angry and powerful to do that, because the common criminal rule is that you pay all debts of the person you killed. Otherwise it would be too easy to take money from the debitor/thief at the right moment and then send someone bury him in the basement without any consequence.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#55
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably whoever did it is a clever person. If I were in that position, I think it would be a fairly obvious step to season the article with subtle misdirections that send people on a wild goose chase. In fact it would be quite fun to do. So I wouldn't take the "information" in the article at face value at all.

I don't think being clever with code necessarily equates to having common sense. If he had common sense, he would have went on his merry way without bragging on the internet...

You possibly vastly underestimate how important it is for people commiting "perfect" crimes to tell the world it was them. There's a lot of stories about forgers including subtle clues in their forgeries to be able to claim their "art" and prove they duped people.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#56

The "bad Tinder date" is completely irrelevant to the story, and is dispensed with after the first paragraph -- but it's oddly effective clickbait; I think this technique should be used more often: * Apple releases iPhone X, after a bad Tinder date * Jamie Dimon Slams Bitcoin as a ‘Fraud’ after a bad Tinder date * Turkey Signs Russian Missile Deal, Pivoting From NATO after a bad Tinder date * Structure and Interpreta…

I don't think it's completely irrelevant. It's meant to get the idea across that it is easy enough to do at night when you're bored.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if you switch between networks you suddenly no longer have a transparent transaction. Mind you, the details of the transaction (i.e. which account BTC the ETH was converted into) can be retrieved, but not without some effort and paperwork from authorities. If you say, split up the ETH and tumble it into a number of smaller wallets, transfer it to BTC with a bunch of seperate accounts and/or exchanges, and then tumble…

>if it ends up in a number of smaller BTC wallets, you also have to now prove that those wallets are all owned by the same person and not just a bunch of wallets owned by seperate people who happened to have a total of x amount of BTC adding up to roughly the equivalent value in ETH minus transaction fees. This could be considered handling stolen goods, and could be prosectuable. Anyone who has access to the private…

It could, but the point I was making is that you have to make the case that they are intentionally holding the stolen currency and not just having been paid said currency for a service of some kind.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>if it ends up in a number of smaller BTC wallets, you also have to now prove that those wallets are all owned by the same person and not just a bunch of wallets owned by seperate people who happened to have a total of x amount of BTC adding up to roughly the equivalent value in ETH minus transaction fees. This could be considered handling stolen goods, and could be prosectuable. Anyone who has access to the private…

It could, but the point I was making is that you have to make the case that they are intentionally holding the stolen currency and not just having been paid said currency for a service of some kind.

I'm not sure that holds, it's like getting paid for a service with marked currency. At best you would have the currency taken off you, and investigated/forced to disclose details of all your transactions, at worst you would be considered for handling stolen goods.

Re: How I snatched 153k Ether after a bad Tinder date

#59
post #7

Out of curiosity...is this a man or a woman? EDIT: What's with the oversensitivity here? Is there anything wrong in asking a person's sex? What if it's for studying inclination towards certain decision making criteria? Geez folks, not every question is sinister. If you don't want to answer it, just move on. No one is being attacked here.

why do you even care

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