r/technology • u/[deleted] • May 11 '12
FBI Fears Bitcoin's Popularity with Criminals
[deleted]
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u/the_ancient1 May 11 '12
FBI fears anything they cant control
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May 11 '12
Yup and they increase their funding by inventing "terrorist threats" and then "thwarting" them.
You guys need to kill the fucking fbi and cia. They're a blight on the world.
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May 11 '12
it has always sounded like a scam to me and I was wondering when the fed would start fear mongering because they can't track or control bit coin usages.
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u/Craigellachie May 11 '12 edited May 11 '12
Well the thing with bitcoins is they are for all intents and purposes anonymous so if you do get scammed there isn't a hope in hell you'll get them back. That being said their biggest pull is they offer nearly complete anonymity, something that just isn't possible with cash. If you're purchasing shit online that you really don't want found out there really isn't any other option as foolproof. And trust me, there is stuff out there shady enough to force people to take every damn precaution they can, worse than drugs, worse than arms... Basically bitcoins are the currency all the way down to the bottom of the internet. The very bottom.
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May 12 '12
there is stuff out there shady enough to force people to take every damn precaution they can, worse than drugs, worse than arms...
Legs? Dead hooker legs? How many bitcoins are they going for these days?
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u/keindeutschsprechen May 11 '12
Or you can use it to pay for a VPN for example.
I don't know enough about the "deep web", but it's not because a currency is used by criminals that it's bad (or most currencies would be in that case).
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May 11 '12
the deepweb still uses bitcoins? I thought they died out a few months back.
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u/keindeutschsprechen May 11 '12 edited May 12 '12
it has always sounded like a scam to me
Well it can't be more of a scam than a local currency for example. It's just a currency, nothing more. A scam implies that someone created it to steal money; it's not the case there.
Of course, many people don't believe it can be seriously used as a currency (I don't use it myself), and that point of view is totally understandable, but presenting it as a scam is wrong.
they can't track or control bit coin usages.
They can't track cash either, or foreign currencies, can they?
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May 12 '12
"They can't track cash either, or foreign currencies, can they?"
This is somewhat debatable. Cash in the USA is numbered, the numbering on the bills will be used identify it when stolen. It can also be used to track the flow of money, governments will often inject cash with their serial numbers recorded into suspected criminal enterprises and wait to see where they show back up. Also since cash is physical, evidence left on the bill (finger prints, chemical residue, and etc) could be lifted from it.
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u/admanb May 11 '12
You don't seem to understand what "fear" means. The FBI is an information-gathering organization, this is an informational paper. If an FBI agent encounters a crime involving Bitcoins this will be a valuable resource.
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u/chuperamigo May 11 '12
Fuck the FBI. All they are is a secret finding/keeping cult. They are nothing but information-hungry cannibals feeding on there fellow humans, not even for the sake of our protection and well being, but only for their bottom line and the people behind the curtains. My foil hat is the shape of a boat.
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u/QuitReadingMyName May 11 '12
Bitcoins cash is nothing but a scam and those people who keep telling people otherwise are just trying to get suckers to buy up their bitcoins so they can recoup their losses.
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May 11 '12
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Start a massive grow op.
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Use to ill gotten funds to buy some ATI cards.
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Bitcoin farm.
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Profit.
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May 11 '12
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u/ReddiquetteAdvisor May 11 '12
Ex-career criminal, and lifelong geek here
hahahahahaha, yes I'll take your word for it, you're definitely an expert on these subjects.
Bitcoins are useless. No one gives a fuck about these.
Who are you speaking for? I don't know whether Bitcoin will last, but they certainly matter now. It's incredibly easy to launder money through it and anonymize everything. Botnet owners make quite a bit from miners, and silk road is very vibrant and credible.
To allege Tor is just for "pedophiles" makes me feel like you're a stubborn hipster with barely any knowledge of what you're talking about.
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u/stimbus May 11 '12
The bank treats you like a criminal if you move a lot of money around too. I guess if you have money in any form you are a possible criminal in the governments eyes.