Mactheknife1 = coin thief?

November 25, 2006

It seems someone using the account name Mactheknife1 went on a geocoin raid this past September in Alberta, grabbing my Quebec geocoin as well as several others. I have tried contacting them to know what they intend to do with the geocoins but received no answer.

Have any others tried to contact Mactheknife1? Is there any way to track this person? I realize the coins are probably stolen and gone for good :laughing: , but any kind of help (or support) would be appreciated. Thanks!

November 25, 2006

It seems someone using the account name Mactheknife1 went on a geocoin raid this past September in Alberta, grabbing my Quebec geocoin as well as several others. I have tried contacting them to know what they intend to do with the geocoins but received no answer.

Have any others tried to contact Mactheknife1? Is there any way to track this person? I realize the coins are probably stolen and gone for good , but any kind of help (or support) would be appreciated. Thanks!

My Prague geocoin had been picked up a few months ago by 'Mactheknife'. That profile is now invalid, but sure enough, it's in Mactheknife1's hands. Oh well, what goes around comes around. If I were Mactheknife, I'd be looking over my shoulder (and he/she probably is).

8.8k · November 25, 2006

Before you go accusing people of being thieves, try checking their stats. Macthknife1 is not a prolific cacher, 7 finds, and has not been back out since September. Something could have happened to him, you do not know his story. Try first emailing them through their profile, and ask NICELY, if they plan on moving your coin soon. Do not harrass them, do not be nasty about it. September wasn't that long ago. Not everyone can go out every single weekend.

Please read the forum guidelines about respect for others, and read the site terms of use abotu emailing other players beore you email him.

Yes I do think it's odd he has picked up as many coins as he has, and only has 7 finds, but we cannot jump to conclusions based on that little information. Thieves don't usually log when they take things. People are innocent until proven guilty.

Coins and travel bugs go missing a lot. It's a risk we take. It hurts, I know.

Try the friendly email approach first. Go their profile page and click on send a message.

8.8k · November 25, 2006

My Prague geocoin had been picked up a few months ago by 'Mactheknife'. That profile is now invalid, but sure enough, it's in Mactheknife1's hands. Oh well, what goes around comes around. If I were Mactheknife, I'd be looking over my shoulder (and he/she probably is).

No where on his profile page do I see that it's invalid.

8.8k · November 25, 2006

OK, at this point, don't anyone send him an email, I just did, and we'll wait to see what happens. Let's not flood him with nastygrams.

November 25, 2006

OK, at this point, don't anyone send him an email, I just did, and we'll wait to see what happens. Let's not flood him with nastygrams.

There has been MUCH discussion about this cacher on the Calgary Area Cachers boards - many of us have been trying to contact him for quite a while now... and none of us received any responses to our many emails (at the time his/her account was still active)

Maybe you will have more luck then us.... I know he/she has my Blind Acorn coin...

November 25, 2006

For the record...

As I recall my coin was picked up by 'mactheknife', not 'mactheknife1'. When I emailed 'mactheknife' the email came back as undeliverable. I may have emailed the wrong party??? Anyway, that's what I recall but I've been wrong before. My email wasn't nasty though, I just asked that the cacher send the coin on its way and if they needed help logging it to let me know. I did look at the profile and saw this cacher hadn't found many caches before so I thought he/she might need help. Anyway thanks, Eartha, for looking into it.

1.1k · November 25, 2006

well who knows truth but here's what i see

- 3doxies I see your coin in macktheknife1's inventory

- i see the team deserteagle earlier in his inventory picked up and not logged by a geojefe - bumped him gently to logit on new look webpage

- i see another cacher take a geobone without an unactivated swap and then get mad their coin is taken and kept by knifeguy!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...g=y&decrypt

- i see other GOOD cachers keep coins for 6 months and then release them

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...55-d72c3cc83d25

November 25, 2006

Before you go accusing people of being thieves, try checking their stats. Macthknife1 is not a prolific cacher, 7 finds, and has not been back out since September. Something could have happened to him, you do not know his story. Try first emailing them through their profile, and ask NICELY, if they plan on moving your coin soon. Do not harrass them, do not be nasty about it. September wasn't that long ago. Not everyone can go out every single weekend.

Please read the forum guidelines about respect for others, and read the site terms of use abotu emailing other players beore you email him.

Yes I do think it's odd he has picked up as many coins as he has, and only has 7 finds, but we cannot jump to conclusions based on that little information. Thieves don't usually log when they take things. People are innocent until proven guilty.

Coins and travel bugs go missing a lot. It's a risk we take. It hurts, I know.

Try the friendly email approach first. Go their profile page and click on send a message.

Hello again, I would like to point out that I'm not flat out accusing Mactheknife1 of being a geocoin pirate; I am wondering aloud if my coin is stolen and if others have had problems/successful communications with that user. My first step was to send a friendly email, which I did last month, but I received no answer. My second step was to enquire on this forum.

Thanks Eartha for looking into this and thanks to everyone else for their replies!

November 25, 2006

well who knows truth but here's what i see

- 3doxies I see your coin in macktheknife1's inventory

- i see the team deserteagle earlier in his inventory picked up and not logged by a geojefe - bumped him gently to logit on new look webpage

- i see another cacher take a geobone without an unactivated swap and then get mad their coin is taken and kept by knifeguy!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...g=y&decrypt

- i see other GOOD cachers keep coins for 6 months and then release them

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...55-d72c3cc83d25

I see your point here but this person seems to be making a habit of going to a cache and just grabbing coins, often not even logging the cache they found it in. People in the area have tried numerous times to contact them with no response whatsoever. this may be a total newbie who has now gotten so much email on it that they are afraid to show their face but the general feeling around Calgary is that this person knows what they are doing. Unfortunately no one in the local area knows who it is or they could find out what the real story is.

Edited November 25, 2006 by graylling

2.1k · November 25, 2006

Bearing in mind that their e-mail associated with their account is yakuza@signapore.com (based on bounce messages), I'd say they probably know full well that what they are doing is against general community standards.

1.2k · November 25, 2006

Bearing in mind that their e-mail associated with their account is yakuza@signapore.com (based on bounce messages), I'd say they probably know full well that what they are doing is against general community standards.

What he said, definitely a ... well ... you know.

1.1k · November 26, 2006

Got a reply straight away from geojefe -his daughter picked up a currency coin like a quarter orsomething - no TB's or geocoins at the at stage in the cache so the desert eagle can be marked MIA if any local area cachers want to check out the truth on the ground?

I'm running a new sevice downunder - the rebirth centre - some civil war coins are headed my way for this purpose and finderfox, two gold compass roses and gold dressel dragon* are ready to be activated and adopted, slightly damaged but gorgeous - no use to me as trades. Your new coin travels with a passport and a guardian. They will provide some fun for local cachers. If you are ultra nervous there is a safe moveable cache called "the trove" that passes hand to hand or only via geocaching.com.au coordinates

*pm about this one if you want it can be activated by someone willing to make a small donation to my favourite charity.

1.7k · November 26, 2006

well who knows truth but here's what i see

- i see another cacher take a geobone without an unactivated swap and then get mad their coin is taken and kept by knifeguy!

I see someone who traded a couple of pins for a item that was traded for 2 golf balls. seems like a trade up to me. (also geobones arnt activate-able)

Nothing you really can do but hope they show up somewhere.

or maybe you could dust the cache for fingerprints?

2k · November 26, 2006

We seem to be having some problems in the area. Mactheknife1 *may* be part of the explaination. While I agree that we cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person is a thief - the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong against this individual.

Personally, I will not release coins in the area (and it used to be such a great area to release coins!). My solution is that everyone in the area that has a coin collection should "fake drop" their collections into caches in the area. This way, all the caches would *appear* to have coins in them, but most would not.

At least it would get those targeting coin-ladden caches out for a walk :anitongue:

1.1k · November 27, 2006

LOL great idea:nother idea lobby GC to stop being GUTLESS

viz

"Is there any Geocoin etiquette?

>snip

In addition, selling a coin which doesn’t belong to you is generally frowned upon unless you have received express permission from its owner. "

replace with:

A geocoin is placed in a cache by its OWNER with a specific intent - rather like a parked car. You as a member of the planet earth, the human race and GC.com are expected to treat these intentions with the same respect expectd towards any other private property or property of an organisation placed for the ENJOYMENT OF ALL like a water fountain.

In addition, selling a coin which doesn’t belong to you is THEFT and will be prosecuted as such.

November 27, 2006

It seems someone using the account name Mactheknife1 went on a geocoin raid this past September in Alberta, grabbing my Quebec geocoin as well as several others. I have tried contacting them to know what they intend to do with the geocoins but received no answer.

Have any others tried to contact Mactheknife1? Is there any way to track this person? I realize the coins are probably stolen and gone for good , but any kind of help (or support) would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry chibico, I was the guy who brought your coin to Calgary. The cacher in question has not answered any of my e-mails about my coin too. And I did ask very nicely at first.... To no avail. I made some changes to my coin page reflecting what I believe has happened to my coin... Pretty sure it won't help but it made me work out some of my frustration.....

2.1k · November 27, 2006

LOL great idea:nother idea lobby GC to stop being GUTLESS

Honestly, what do you expect gc.com to actually do? Launch an international criminal investigation over a geocoin?

Come on, yep the coin shouldn't be taken like that, yep you might be able to make a case for it being theft (although I'm not entirely convinced of this fact, I don't feel like discussing that point at the moment, as we're getting pretty off topic, at the very least, its highly unethical).

Its not being gutless, its being practical. The most they can do, is ban the user's account & IP address, but even that has limited usefulness. It might even encourage them to steal more (i.e. lets see how many accounts I can get banned, or how big of a stink I can cause). A new account can be signed up for, and logging in from a different location (like an open WiFi) can quickly give a different IP from the standard.

Also when it comes down to it, the only evidence we have that any individual takes a geocoin, is evidence they decide to provide.

1.1k · November 27, 2006

Honestly, what do you expect gc.com to actually do? Launch an international criminal investigation over a geocoin?

i don't think its off topic at all. The topic after all mentions THIEF. Investigation and prosecution is for the law to undertake.

I agree it's not GC's place to undertake this after all here's GC frowning generally on geocoin theft :laughing: terrifying isn't it?

However I expect GC.com to state the truth - and the truth is that ebay amongst others will not tolerate the SALE of stolen goods.

This really is thin end of the wedge behaviour and I don't think GC is even minimally enforcing its own standard of conduct - i think the tolerance of such pirate accounts - the knife isn't alone nor the first - encourages copycat behaviour. The 'etiquette' wording is just so laughably wisy washy. Why even mention it if that's the best they can do? It invites scornful behaviour.

Edited November 27, 2006 by forthferalz

December 6, 2006

It seems someone using the account name Mactheknife1 went on a geocoin raid this past September in Alberta, grabbing my Quebec geocoin as well as several others. I have tried contacting them to know what they intend to do with the geocoins but received no answer.

Have any others tried to contact Mactheknife1? Is there any way to track this person? I realize the coins are probably stolen and gone for good , but any kind of help (or support) would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry chibico, I was the guy who brought your coin to Calgary. The cacher in question has not answered any of my e-mails about my coin too. And I did ask very nicely at first.... To no avail. I made some changes to my coin page reflecting what I believe has happened to my coin... Pretty sure it won't help but it made me work out some of my frustration.....

No need to apologize VI Waypoint Hunters! There is no way you could know... I also changed my coin's page to vent some frustration and marked the coin as 'missing'.

I agree with those who say GC is relatively powerless against geocoin pirates. Aside from banning IPs and accounts, there is little they can do. It is a shame we are helpless against those who violate the geocaching etiquette, but there is a degree of risk inherent to geocaching, and people who have no respect for other people's property is part of that risk. May they get theirs in the end!

1.1k · December 7, 2006

hi everyone,

prntr1 has generously donated 10 activated geocoins to be released in Australia.If you have lost a coin in battle and would like to adopt one of these please send email to prntr1 or myself ( NOTpm -I forget to read it :huh: Each coin will have your instructions for it printed out and a small army man or other plastic soldier to accompany it if you would also like to make it trackable at geocaching.com.au by giving it a swaggie code so it can visit more caches down under easily <_<

Edited December 7, 2006 by forthferalz

December 7, 2006

It seems someone using the account name Mactheknife1 went on a geocoin raid this past September in Alberta, grabbing my Quebec geocoin as well as several others. I have tried contacting them to know what they intend to do with the geocoins but received no answer.

Have any others tried to contact Mactheknife1? Is there any way to track this person? I realize the coins are probably stolen and gone for good , but any kind of help (or support) would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry chibico, I was the guy who brought your coin to Calgary. The cacher in question has not answered any of my e-mails about my coin too. And I did ask very nicely at first.... To no avail. I made some changes to my coin page reflecting what I believe has happened to my coin... Pretty sure it won't help but it made me work out some of my frustration.....

No need to apologize VI Waypoint Hunters! There is no way you could know... I also changed my coin's page to vent some frustration and marked the coin as 'missing'.

I agree with those who say GC is relatively powerless against geocoin pirates. Aside from banning IPs and accounts, there is little they can do. It is a shame we are helpless against those who violate the geocaching etiquette, but there is a degree of risk inherent to geocaching, and people who have no respect for other people's property is part of that risk. May they get theirs in the end!

I have a question in reference to stolen Geocoins that i'm hoping someone can answer. My son gave me a new Midwest Geobash 2006 geocoinn as a gift. I stupidly activated it and put it in one of my caches since I am facinated by where travel bugs and coins go and the miles they log. And as you can guess...within a day it was missing with no explanation on the cache log and it has not been logged online. I'm sure it is gone forever and I can't do anything about that but I'm wondering how long it will show as belonging to me? For instance if a thief has it in a collection and someone trys to "discover" it ,if it's traded for something, etc when they enter the tracking number will they see that it belongs to me?

1.5k · December 7, 2006

It will show belonging to you forever (or until you adopt it out). If anyone tries to log it in any fashion you'll know. Sorry it didn't make it out of its first cache.

December 7, 2006

It will show belonging to you forever (or until you adopt it out). If anyone tries to log it in any fashion you'll know. Sorry it didn't make it out of its first cache.

Thanks for your reply. I thought that was the case but I'm very new and wasn't sure. I have a laminated photocopy of the coin that I made so at least I can remember what it looked like. If the thief develops morals and it starts traveling, I will be ok with that. Maybe I'll release the photocopy along with a Geocacher's curse on the original! Ha Ha That'll teach em (and I can make more copies hee hee hee) :laughing:

December 9, 2006

a small army man or other plastic soldier to accompany it if you would also like to make it trackable at geocaching.com.au by giving it a swaggie code so it can visit more caches down under easily

Why have it trackable in more than one spot?

Doesn't this confuse things?

Edited December 9, 2006 by TheCrankyCacher

2k · December 10, 2006

The very best thing that Groundspeak could do to aid in the prevention of coin theft is to provide an "icon" option for the object owner. When activating the object (coin/bug) they could offer a drop-down choice:

1) Custom icon (the one associated with the item)

2) Standard TB Icon

3) Stealth (no icon)

The object would still exist and generate custom icons in the finder profile etc, it's just that the icon associated with the object in cache placement would be owner selected.

Personally, with all the theft of coins - their use as a true traveller is limited. To this end, making trackable coins is somewhat of a fools game. The tags are a much better choice. If you really want a coin to travel - drill a hole in it and attach a regular TB Tag (at least it may help and doesn't generate the "red flag" icon in the quick searches.

As for our "friend" Mactheknife - what is the status of their account/login/etc. I cannot seem to find them in the membership database anymore. Does this mean we can expect a new name to appear?

Given that a geocoin is worth less than $10-$30, I would not want to bother the police with charging anyone - they are more likely to be concerned that we are leaving containers in public lands. (that would be "littering" in many by-laws!)

Edited December 10, 2006 by Lemon Fresh Dog

1.1k · December 11, 2006

a small army man or other plastic soldier to accompany it if you would also like to make it trackable at geocaching.com.au by giving it a swaggie code so it can visit more caches down under easily

Why have it trackable in more than one spot?

Doesn't this confuse things?

Personally i can't see the need myself but SOME people are FUSSY about "tracking" I mean really -all you need is aweb page to log anythings movements but everyone likes the process semiautomated ( they forget the coordinates, the cache name, the TB number, they don't own a paper logbook ... so FUSSY people often complain if a "GC trackable" item is left in a GA cache ( some cahce owners will refuse a GC item entry) and the coin owners ( who don't want them left there)....the swaggie password you set yourself so it can be identical to the engraved number

December 11, 2006

Its a pity someone would do that to other cachers.

Always remember what they say about geocachers. They know the best place to hide a body.

Mactheknife1 = coin thief?

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