Bitcoin Private Key Finders: Legit or Scam?

You’ve probably been interested in, or saw of these websites and software in the past called “Bitcoin/Ethereum Private Key Finders”, and it somehow got your attention. I mean, who doesn’t like free coins right?

The question though is, do they actually work?

What’s a Bitcoin/Ethereum private key finder?

Source: Jude Austin | Bitcointalk

Based on the “private key finder” websites we’ve seen in the past, basically, private key finder services are services whereas the user scans through a lot of pages of randomly generated private keys until the user land upon a private key with actual funds in it, if he/she’s lucky enough.

Does it work?

While theoretically, there’s a non-zero chance of you landing upon a private key with some bitcoin or ether in it, it’s mathematically next to impossible for you to do so. In fact, if you like betting your money on Powerball lotteries, you’re far more likely to win the grand prize than to actually land upon a page with a private key that has a non-zero balance in it.

The Scams

there are some private key finder scam websites whereas it’s mostly the same with the legitimate ones, but for some reason, you’d land upon a page with a private key that has a significant amount of bitcoin/ether in it.

Easy money, right?

Here’s where the scam comes in. The problem is, the private key you found that supposedly has funds in it is hidden or blurred out. For you to gain access or unlock that certain private key, you’d need to pay a fee, which mostly varies in value. After paying, the owner of the scam website simply runs away with the money and you’d end up gaining nothing besides a new valuable lesson concerning scams.

Final Thoughts

Think about it. If it was actually easy enough to randomly find private keys with funds in it, a lot of people would be complaining online on how they somehow lost their funds even if they’re security conscious and even if they’re using hardware wallets. Which in the end, would ultimately end up making Bitcoin a complete failure of a project, and a complete failure of a currency.

If you’re looking to make money, the best methods are still the ones whereas you make the money legitimately. May it be though a business, a job, gigs, and such.