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Comment by morsch | Hacker News Reader

In just a few weeks ESEA's employee earned himself BTC30, or about $2,400 (£1,600) at today's exchange rates.

Ouch. Hardly worth it.

It's always baffling to me that people will take these sorts of risks for such small rewards. A few thousand dollars in exchange for firing, lawsuits, possible criminal charges, and a ruined reputation in your field? No thanks.

I think it's often the case (not necessarily in this one, I have no idea) that people don't realize or convince themselves they're not doing anything that's wrong or a big deal. Still damning enough, mind you, but less malicious maybe and it explains the ignorance of the risks involved.

I always thought stealing at work or looking at porn was ridiculous for the same reasons. Talk about poor risk analysis.

It's recurring income that requires zero effort once it's running. $2400 every few weeks is enough to live comfortably in many places in the world.

> It's recurring income that requires zero effort once it's running.

It doesn't seem to be very recurring.

$2400 every few weeks is enough to live comfortably in most of the First World, actually.

He must have put the decimal point in the wrong place or something.

LOL. Office Space or Superman 3?

I witnessed a fraud where someone ended their career over a couple grand in expenses. I couldn't believe it. My takeaway was they thought they wouldn't be caught, or they could talk their way out of it if they were.

Unless this is a case of someone saying, "Wouldn't this be cool?" it's probably the tip of the iceberg. The bitcoins could be fueling a drug or gambling habit, or something else. The story is rarely as simple as one mistake - there's usually a history of poor judgment.

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