back to article Everything old is new again: Man mugged in New York, only this time for his Bitcoins

A New York man was robbed at gunpoint of $1,110 worth of Bitcoin. According to CNBC, on the morning of May 27, the 28-year-old man was lured into a car in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn to sell Bitcoin to a buyer he met on Craigslist. Once inside the car with the two robbers, the man was reportedly forced at gunpoint …

  1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

    Why?

    I don't want to blame the victim for being robbed, as that is a crime no matter where it takes place. But I do wonder why would you turn up in person to pay by bitcoin?

    As far as I can see its main reason for existence is for electronic payment, and more so for use outside of the US-controlled credit card and Paypal corporations where it is hard to trace and hard to stop (e.g. wikileaks accounts being blocked by US gov pressure). Of course the "hard to trace" aspect appeals to criminals just like wads of cash, so maybe they pushed him for a bitcoin transaction knowing that.

    1. DropBear

      Re: Why?

      FYI, in-person bitcoin trading is actually a thing among people with a... distaste for being traced, considering the first thing pretty much _all_ online bitcoin outlets ask you when you sign up is your verifiable personal data. All of it. And no, that's not some sort of euphemism for "criminals" - lots of folks these days feel that being ID'd to the gills sort of negates the allegedly private nature of bitcoin. Of course, as the article demonstrates, trading in person can go seriously wrong once it's not just a silly thing that enthusiasts do...

    2. Your alien overlord - fear me

      Re: Why?

      He wasn't paying in BitCoins, he was selling them, probably for real money (drug dealers on the corner roads/hookers on the street rarely accept anything less than greenbacks).

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ROFL

      "Police in some cities have offered to let people carry out their Craigslist deals outside of police stations to help discourage robberies."

      "Excuse me Sergeant, where can I buy Bitcoin?"

      "Down the street on the right."

      (Looks) "By the cafe?"

      "No, that's prostitution. Bitcoin is next door to the laundry."

      (Looks again) "Oh, I see it, the one by the ice cream van."

      "Yeah, but you can only buy heroin from there. Stay away from the alley, even we don't go down there."

      (Confused) "Why?"

      "Lawyers. You'll lose your shirt."

  2. PleebSmash
    Pirate

    holy shit

    wow

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So if you're carrying a high value thing or things, then you shouldn't climb into a stranger's car. Gottit, thanks very much. I feel a bit let down because neither the Green Cross Man nor fucking Tufty mentioned it, and it's the sort of tip worth knowing.

    1. Velv
      Childcatcher

      That was Charlie...

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3FnCiRpdQ4

  4. Shadow Systems

    Please foregive my ignorance in this but...

    But isn't one of the means of transfering BitCoin from one account to another a way to verify the transfer? As in, if Bob sends some to Suzy & Suzy claims never to have gotten them, can't Bob verify that they did in fact get deposited to the account she specified?

    I thought there was a story not too long ago about some major heist of BitCoins that was able to be tracked down to where the BC were eventually (stored? like an account?) that proved the "new owners" were in possession of the stolen BC. If that's possible then why doesn't the victim simply log in to his BitCoin Manager & find out what account they were sent to? Post that account number & the BC identification numbers (hash tags?) to the BC community that the coins were stolen, went to $Account, and anyone running across BitCoins### should flag the "owner" of those coins as dealing in stolen property.

    I am not knowledgeable of BitCoin because I don't care to traffic in them, have nothing to spend them on, and my computer isn't fast enough to mine them in anything considered a reasonable amount of time. (It's not quite as slow as that Punch Card story the other day, but only because mine actually uses silicon based Integrated Circuits instead. Snort)

    I don't think much of them one way or the other, just that they're not for me right now. I don't denounce them as worthless either, but mainly because they have the capacity to become a much more powerful resource. So my current lack of knowledge is due to focusing on other things rather than BitCoin.

    Which is why I ask. If there's any way to trace to whom recieved the BC from the victim, can't that data trail be followed to find the criminals?

    1. nk

      Re: Please foregive my ignorance in this but...

      Who's Suzy? I only know Alice :P

      Yes you could trace the transactions back but...

      You still can't seize the bitcoins or ban them from trade.

      You still can't ID the owner, only the address.

      After many transactions with unidentified addresses the bitcoin could end up in a legitimate account that got it through a legitimate transaction. You can't expect them to know every bitcoin's history just because they own it, and you can't very well charge them for holding it.

      The criminal could upload the stolen bitcoin to an online exchange. Most of them still only ask for an email UNLESS you want to withdraw cash. You can still withdraw bitcoin and certainly you can withdraw other cryptocurrencies.

      Even if they only withdraw back in bitcoin in another withdrawal address, the trail is lost because the coin they get is not the same they gave the exchange. Unless the cops can force the exchange to give up the email address.

      A much better plan would be to withdraw on an entirely different blockchain, preferably one built with anonymity in mind like dash or monero.

      I suppose its still possible to catch them but the amount of effort is too much

      1. Shadow Systems

        @NK re BitCoin.

        Wow, that sucks schweaty monkey balls.

        Thanks for the info, it's helped me solidify why I don't deal in BitCoin (or any other CryptoCurrency) for my own use: if you have zero recourse to get it back once stolen, you might as well just use cash. You can't get the cash back either, but at least the cops don't look at you funny if you say some crook just robbed you at gunpoint of all your Cash.

    2. Velv

      Re: Please foregive my ignorance in this but...

      Compare it to bank notes with serial numbers.

      Chances are that at some point in your life you've transacted notes that were previously used in a crime. And used to snort cocaine. And been in a strippers G-String

  5. FutureShock999

    Forget going to the police station to do a deal. Have them meet you at an airport - tell them you are passing through and that is the only place you can meet them. Find a coffee shop near the TSA check-in. Remember that if something funny goes down or your life is in danger, all you need to do is shout "He has a gun!!". Back in the old days you could meet them after security, sadly that now requires you to buy a ticket. For high-value deals and/or very dangerous clients, that still might be worth the security it brings.

    If they won't meet there, then something is probably wrong.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why was he selling bitcoin on Craigslist?

    I have to think the "victim" was involved in something shady, otherwise why the need to get cash for his bitcoin instead conducting an electronic transaction that would deposit money in his bank account?

  7. chivo243 Silver badge
    Boffin

    A criminal and the fool's money...

    ...are soon partying. They have his "coin" and they have the drugs they were going to sell him.

    Great business plan!

  8. User McUser

    Gimmie all yer BitCoins.

    Huh, I figured a BitCoin robbery would go something like this:

    https://thenib.com/give-me-all-your-bitcoins-1a1d9f5e630 (scroll down for comic)

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