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> Ignoring the fact that bad people many times use e-currency for repulsive things like child slavery Source?

rdl 13y ago
E-Gold got used for carders (a lot), HYIPs/moneygames, and, most regrettably, child pornography (this is all in court documents; I consulted for E-Gold and worked on an affiliated project back in 1998-1999, about a decade before the prosecution). It was funny running into Carol Van Cleef, a lawyer from Patton Boggs, who defended E-Gold after they were convicted (in implementing the agreement), at the Bitcoin 2013 conference (she knew my name from docs, but we'd never met). E-Gold actually was helping prosecutors vs. the carders/cp people, and maintaining files on them/actively working with law enforcement, but when it became a criminal case about E-Gold, that information was used as evidence the system itself supported these activities. LR is probably in the same position; I know they have essentially the same market positioning.
the_mitsuhiko 13y ago
You don't even need a source for this, it should be obvious that it's used for that.
- shocks 13y ago
  You mean exactly the same way that pound sterling and dollar are used for illegal things too?
  - lmm 13y ago
    I understood that large criminal transactions were generally done in CHF - larger-denomination notes available, and it avoids currency conversion costs when you're withdrawing from one Swiss account and depositing into another.
- gbrindisi 13y ago
  I know it's used for child pornography, carding and malware related incomes but not for child slavery. From the little I saw on underground forums LR is used for mid to low criminal incomes, by the like of botnet herding profits and carding infos trade. For things bigger and riskier like cashing out massive amounts of stolen cards and bank drops it's my understanding that cybercrooks are using money mule schemes and networks of off shore companies, not LR or similar... I'd flag child slavery as an high risk activity which can't be done just trough LR-like currencies, that's why I was asking for some sources.

rdl 13y ago

E-Gold got used for carders (a lot), HYIPs/moneygames, and, most regrettably, child pornography (this is all in court documents; I consulted for E-Gold and worked on an affiliated project back in 1998-1999, about a decade before the prosecution). It was funny running into Carol Van Cleef, a lawyer from Patton Boggs, who defended E-Gold after they were convicted (in implementing the agreement), at the Bitcoin 2013 conference (she knew my name from docs, but we'd never met). E-Gold actually was helping prosecutors vs. the carders/cp people, and maintaining files on them/actively working with law enforcement, but when it became a criminal case about E-Gold, that information was used as evidence the system itself supported these activities. LR is probably in the same position; I know they have essentially the same market positioning.

the_mitsuhiko 13y ago

You don't even need a source for this, it should be obvious that it's used for that.

shocks 13y ago
You mean exactly the same way that pound sterling and dollar are used for illegal things too?
- lmm 13y ago
  I understood that large criminal transactions were generally done in CHF - larger-denomination notes available, and it avoids currency conversion costs when you're withdrawing from one Swiss account and depositing into another.
gbrindisi 13y ago
I know it's used for child pornography, carding and malware related incomes but not for child slavery. From the little I saw on underground forums LR is used for mid to low criminal incomes, by the like of botnet herding profits and carding infos trade. For things bigger and riskier like cashing out massive amounts of stolen cards and bank drops it's my understanding that cybercrooks are using money mule schemes and networks of off shore companies, not LR or similar... I'd flag child slavery as an high risk activity which can't be done just trough LR-like currencies, that's why I was asking for some sources.