From: azur@netcom.com (Steve Schear)
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 11:14:20 -0700 (PDT)
To: scottb@aca.ca
Subject: Re: extortion via digital cash
Message-ID: <v02130503ae891eae8ee1@[10.0.2.15]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Hi, I have been reading numerous threads on digital cash, and I have some
>questions I would like discussed.
>
>currently when someone does extortion (kiddnapping too), they have two
>choices;
>
>1-pick up the cash personally (or via a stooge)
>2-transfer the funds via bank
>
>Both ideas are bad, in that you stand a good chance at getting caught.
>
>I was wondering, what if you demanded payment via Ecash, through nym
>servers, aliases, etc.  From what I understand, it is just like cash, ie: no
>record of transaction, but you get the added bonus of not having to meet the
>other party-like a fund transfer.  Once you have your 1,000,000 Ecash, you
>could dump it on a disk, and close your internet account (unless you really
>really trust your privacy technology).  And I also think that you would have
>the option to cash this into real funds at either the Mark Twain bank, or
>likely somewhere in the Caymen Islands (maybe through those online gambling
>houses).
>
>I am hoping that this will spark some discussion, and maybe slow down the
>dlv, TM spam war.
>
>Also, I was only wondering about this for mere discussion reasons :)
>
>/sb

Although Digicash's ecash offers anonymity to the payor it does not to the
payee.  The reasons have to do with the way coins are blinded.  So LE
could, with the bank's cooperation, easily associate the two sides of a
transaction.  This was intentional on Chaum's part, either for moral or
practical political considerations.  Its probably only a relatively minor
patch to allow one ecash purse (the kidnapper's) to generate the blind
token values so that another (similarly patched) purse (the vicitim's) can
submit them to the mint and return the minted coins to the kidnapper (e.g.,
by posting on a popular Usenet group).  In this scenario the only
reasonable way left to track the money is via linkage (the size and timing
of deposits and withdrawls in the kidnapper's account).



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