Avoid this trap

I've been thinking about this and might just have an idea for a better villain role. So check it out. Those folks around the globe who are into illegal mining and tapping into the power grid aren't exactly brains of the operation. They usually have a specific spot where they hide their wires underground to avoid detection. But here’s the thing: they still have a fixed location. Even if someone warns them that the cops are onto them, it’ll take ages to start unplugging all those miners one by one and moving them out from their mining site. What if they went mobile? Like using a car, bus, or truck to stash the miners inside, siphoning off electricity and having a lookout ready to bail when things get dicey? Sounds like a solid plan, right? Apparently, some guys in Russia thought the same way. They crammed 95 miners into the back of a truck to keep moving and avoid getting caught, even rigging a small transformer on the truck. Now the truck’s been seized and the two guys took off. So, what’s the deal here? What do they even gain? Those 95 ASIC miners don't come cheap, that's a major investment. Sure, they got away for now, but they risk getting caught later, possibly facing jail time, and they've already lost a ton of cash on mining. Stay away from illegal mining, it's just not worth it. Those illegal connections mess up the power grid and draw attention. You’ll get caught eventually, lose everything, and your peace of mind will be the first thing to go, even if you think you can keep it under wraps.

Some people like to gamble by robbing shit. This looks like an example of it.

In some countries stealing electricity used to be easy. And I guess that some have read plenty of stories. But technology is reaching every corner of the world and I expect this kind of operations are getting noticed increasingly easy. And, you know, stealing is never a good idea. I'd expect that in this case they have lost more than what they've gained. And if they get tracked down physically... it'll get much worse.

Also earnings per kwatt are small. Ie you have a ton of really cheap shit gear. Say s17 50th burning 2k watt free  the 50th makes $2.50 a day You got 100 on a truck you make $250 a day. The 100 miners are maybe 10k the truck 10k transformer and wiring 3k Fuel. Bla bla making your outlay 25k first year. Takes 100 days to breakeven not counting your labor. And if you run this for a whole years time maybe 50k profit Not a lot for the risk and the punishment for getting caught. And that will be a very loud truck as you move it around. If you plug in s19 miners they cost 300 So 30k plus 15k is 45k to set it up. They earn 5 a day so 500 means 90days to break even but you burn 3 kwatts or 300kwatts constantly which is a lot to try to cheat.

This is Russia These people connected the transformer to a 10kilovolt power line and most likely the line was not disconnected. It was discussed in Russian forum, it is very dangerous to make such connection, but thieves did it. Ask your electricians if they can repeat such a trick?

I bet you that this plan, no matter how solid it looked from the beginning and how smart they seemed to be, they didn't think far about the consequences of being caught. You're right, ASIC miners aren't small cash and now these guys just threw them away because they are trying to save their life temporarily because once they get caught, they will not only face charges but would be pay for the damages they have caused. There's nothing to be enjoyed from stealing but these kinds of people like to test fate.

Perhaps they planned to mine in rural areas with a very small population, and that's why they didn't think that they would be caught so easy/fast? If they set up such a mining station and they were able to connect to such power lines, which doesn't seem to be easy, it doesn't seem like they were amateurs. Who knows, maybe there are dozens of trucks out there mining for free, and only one was detected. Until it is found out who the owners are, there will be many doubts to be clarified.

These people were definitely not novice miners. They did a very difficult job of connecting to a high-voltage line. For such a plan to pay off, you need to mine for 4-6 months, and this is very dangerous. Losses of 0.33 megawatts are very large for high-voltage lines and power engineers will definitely find illegal connections or will be forced to pay for these losses from their profits.

PART OF THE ISSUE is BTC does not make a lot of money per watt. say you have all plain s19's at bargain price of 200 each they make only 90 x .05= $4.50 in a day At best in a hundred days they make 450 bucks. So you have 100 that is 450 x 100 = 45,000 usd Costs 100 x 200 =20,000 truck say 5,000 transformer say 5,000 wiring say 2000 32k and in 100 days you have 45k  13k profit. in 200 days it is more like 90k and 55k profit. But pull 330 kwatts 24/7 for 200 days in a row you attract attention. which is why they likely were caught

We have a suggestion on our Russian board that the thieves were helped by local employees, otherwise the task would have been very difficult to steal from one place for 100 days. In Russia, the energy sector is divided into 3 groups of companies: (1) production, (2) transmission of electricity and (3) companies selling electricity. Companies number (2) must ensure the transmission of electricity with acceptable losses. Company (1) sends electricity and it is controlled by meters, company (3) also controls the incoming electricity by the meter. Everything that thieves steal is a loss for companies number (2)

well here in the USA crooked electric company people will help you steal power. but it is not like you could steal a container burning 300 kwatts unless of course you had 5 containers burning 600 kwatts each. total 3 megawatts you likely could shave off 10 percent or 300kwatts.

I am wondering if this will be the case if these illegal miners go their minimal, it is always a handful numbers of Asic miners, why wouldn't it draw attention? If someone is mining illegally using 1 or 2 Asic miner, the chances of getting bursted is - 1000% because this is not even close to what two houses will consume in a day, things will look normal on their side. But these people are too greedy for my liking, they always go big, 100s of Asic miners  and they expect no attention? It's impossible. I don't encourage illegal mining but I've never seen where someone is bursted with a Asic miner or two.

Smh if you wanna do that, at least get some connections within the power grid. Somewhere like South Africa or India would be better (not condoning this practice obviously, just amazed at the lack of preparation they had)

A Kamaz in Russia costs more than $5,000, which can move. But it is also important to equip this Kamaz for installing a transformer and install a container for a hundred ASICs. This must be done well, otherwise it will burn before the police arrive Also, for this you need an engineer who will control the operation of the mining farm, repair ASICs or change them. You will also need an observer who will monitor the road, and these people will work 24/7. It is not hot in Russia to live on the street or in a tent, so this company also needs a cook and a housekeeper who will help with household chores. The main problem is to find good specialists who will live in the forest for 3-6 months

thank you for clarifying numbers  so maybe cost is 45k which is breakeven on day 100 and plus 45k on day 200. Having run a 330 kwatt setup my self I would need at least 1 other person besides my self to run this. Frankly for me I am not looking to spend 200 days on the sneak to get ½ of 45k.

Interesting story. We are trying to protect our privacy even during making a Bitcoin transaction, so how could they hide themselves when they have an entire mining set-up? The idea is ridiculous to me, to be honest; this way you can't survive, and at the end of the day you will be caught and punished. If the mining fees don't cover your electricity cost based on energy cost in your country, then who the hell is forcing you to mine Bitcoin? This is totally illegal, and they should be punished who caught. I always will discourage doing such activities for mining. In my country possibly energy costs won't factor in; if we start mining, mining rewards would be enough to cover all the costs. But the fact is, even Bitcoin is illegal in my country. So I don't dare even think to set up any mining equipment at all. Because this will be considered an illegal activity and will be punished as well.

Living 6 months in the forest in Russia in winter is a very difficult task. For such a crime in Russia, thieves are facing 10 years in prison. You need to be a very brave engineer to take risks because of a small profit. You have not yet considered the cost of living several people in the forest for 6 months

its true food and frankly I do not to be without my lady for 6 months.

I also don’t know people who can live in the forest for so long, so people are needed to work on a schedule. Another option is to set it up and leave it unattended, but it could all burn out or get stolen.

We have saying where I come from, I don't know if it is popular in other parts of the world but the saying is this, "Everyday for the thief, one day for the owner". Thieves always get caught even though it may take 10 years or more in all of the cases they always end up getting caught. Illegal mining operations cause too much problems and it is just a dumb way to earn money. Doing the right thing always pays.