Some one puts encryption on your computer you send bitcoins you could track them

[Beamin]

Isn't that the openness of bitcoin?
Scenario:
You send a bitcoin to the hackers address to get the password he provides dhsgfj12345678

This is how the money physically moves for the example:
You give 1 BTC to:(WALLET1)dhsgfj12345678.
Wallet 1 sends 1BTC to:(Wallet2)dhsgfj12345679
 Wallet 2 send 1BTC to: (walllet3)sgfj12345680 then No more xfers so its a wallet of ATM or fiat n ramp..(This bit of the example happens in real life nondependent if you actually see it THIS  is where your money went.


So what would you do to see this? Can you search the block chain or ledger for these three addresses to see the money got to each wallet? Assuming the thief uses a 3 wallet system and cash out on the third wallet(Which could be an ATM or coinbase. If you can track the last wallet can you tell its a coin base? Can you tell coin base the coin was stolen? Or maybe the police and the police send back your 1BTC because you proved it was yours?

What kind of data does the block tell you I thought it was:
BTCADDRESS IPaddress #ofBTC time and block size.

Technically nothing is anonymous kind of?

Could find the location of a bitcoin atm if that was wallet three or the name of the persons coinbase etc etc?

[Bud]

What makes you think any of Wallets 1,2 or 3 have initial zero balAnce?
What makes you think Wallet2 to Wallet3 transaction moves the same (dirty) money as Wallet1 sent to Wallet3 ?
What makes you think the amount sent between the Wallets is the same?
Are you sure there is no back transactions between the Wallets?

[anovickis]

using your example send address of "dhsgfj12345678"

the key problem is that you can make more address at will; and there is nothing really to associate a given address to a real world identity.


here's a random transaction that's public
https://blockchain.info/address/15D2QcUZoy8EiiyjHQfPrGEK667cnF5TEA

go ahead and tell us who the sender and recipient is

[ovnr]

Bitcoin is anonymous; it is not, however, untraceable - and isn't designed to be. Wallets just don't have an assigned owner, like your bank account does.

If you're doing illegal stuff - or just want better privacy - you can burn some money in fees by passing your cash through a mixing service, which breaks the traceable chain of transactions. For example, if you send 100 mBTC to the mixing service, you'll get 2-3 transactions with "random" values back from completely unrelated wallets. Assuming it's not a scam, of course.

[sleemanj]

Bitcoin gets sent to Address 1

Address 1 sends bitcoin to Address X

Non associated Address 3 sends bitcoin to Address X
Non associated Address 4 sends bitcoin to Address X
Non associated Address 5 sends bitcoin to Address X
...
Non associated Address n sends bitcoin to Address X

[random time passes]

Address X sends Bitcoin to Address ?¹
Address X sends Bitcoin to Address ?²
Address X sends Bitcoin to Address ?³
...
Address X sends Bitcoin to Address ?ⁿ

The trail goes cold as soon as it hits Address "X", unless you compromise the systems behind the operation that is running "Address X" then you have no idea which of Address ?¹ to Address ?ⁿ is the recipient, or even how many of those destinations are that person.

This is what is known as a crypto "tumber" (aka mixer).  There may well be be more than one stage of tumbling.

[orion242]

Wallets just don't have an assigned owner, like your bank account does

Seems like the exchanges that cash out to real money would have a pretty good idea of the owner.  Like any business, I would suspect they will have to deal with local law enforcement requests.

Guessing your going to have to cash out with services that take the cryptos...

[ovnr]

Seems like the exchanges that cash out to real money would have a pretty good idea of the owner.  Like any business, I would suspect they will have to deal with local law enforcement requests.

Of course they do. Which is why you would only ever try to cash out clean coins; if your coins aren't clean, mix them until you're satisfied that they are. And use separate wallets.

[Beamin]

What makes you think any of Wallets 1,2 or 3 have initial zero balAnce?
What makes you think Wallet2 to Wallet3 transaction moves the same (dirty) money as Wallet1 sent to Wallet3 ?
What makes you think the amount sent between the Wallets is the same?
Are you sure there is no back transactions between the Wallets?

That was an easy example to figure out what info you could obtain. Say I sent my money in three hops could I track my own money using common tools/sites on the web?

I thought you would just track the money to wallets and you have a probability that you have found the person when the coins get to a fiat offramp. Of course if they are just buying random stuff off people you would get the wrong guy but technically if you were the FBI and had to catch the person you could. Maybe?

[ebastler]

That was an easy example to figure out what info you could obtain. Say I sent my money in three hops could I track my own money using common tools/sites on the web?

I thought you would just track the money to wallets and you have a probability that you have found the person when the coins get to a fiat offramp. Of course if they are just buying random stuff off people you would get the wrong guy but technically if you were the FBI and had to catch the person you could. Maybe?

The shady guys have already thought about this too... 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_tumbler

[bitwelder]

Apart of using a 'mixing service', I suppose by now it should be possible to convert the 'dirty' Bitcoins to something like Zcash or Monero,
run a few Private transactions (which are deemed untraceable) and little by little bring back to BTC.