Bounty hunters perform their jobs knowing that they are going to be paid for their services like any other business. But the method of payment – or more precisely the currency used for payment – for bounty hunting services is starting to head in an unprecedented direction.
Roger Ver, Bitcoin Angel investor, has started a bounty hunting service designed to catch internet criminals by paying the hunters in digital currency. His website, BitcoinBountyHunter.com, posts the identities of individuals who are suspected of having committed internet crimes such as hacking, virus perpetration, and other offenses specifically related to Bitcoin.
The website not only lists the identities of suspects but also the Bitcoin bounty amounts that are being offered for information that leads to their capture and ultimately to their arrest. Ver claims that his website and the concept behind the Bitcoin format reflects the beginning of what he calls “a new era for law enforcement.”
According to Ver, anyone anywhere who has an internet connection and a compatible device can log on and make Bitcoin contributions to the individual bounties that are listed. The funds go toward helping bounty hunters and law enforcement officers track down and apprehend criminals.
While the site only serves as a means for capturing criminals who have committed internet and Bitcoin-related offenses, its future according to Ver is one that is much more expansive. It could be used to put bounties on any criminal suspected of any crime whether it is online or offline.
Ver came up with the idea for the Bitcoin bounty hunting when he got tired of seeing criminals committing internet-related crimes – crimes which Ver says have real victims – and getting away with those offenses. Ver says he’s fed up with hackers who are smart enough to get legitimate high-paying jobs but who choose to use their intelligence to steal from others.