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Comment by tobltobs | Hacker News Reader

It would be common sense to pay a bounty. Similar to the reward you should get if you find somebody's wallet. If you are known for not paying a bounty (a finder reward) some people will not tell you your security holes (will not give you back your wallet).

On the long run this will be more expensive than the bounty. But the problem might be that if the would pay a bounty, they would admit that the screwed it, what their lawyers would like to prevent.

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I would absolutely never expect or even accept a reward for a lost wallet. It's our duty as a member of a civilized society to not steal.

If a wallet finder failed to give me my wallet back, I'd just call the police.

The options aren't just returning it or stealing it, they can simply leave it where it is to avoid the hassle of having to return it. Hence why having a custom of paying a reward might be beneficial for wallet losers in general.

I'd like to feel like people would be ethically and morally motivated to make efforts to do the right thing rather than expect to be rewarded for doing the right thing. Perhaps it is how I was raised, but it seems weird to me that I would turn in a lost wallet with expectation to get something back out of it. This so-called "custom" is not my custom. It actually seems very childish, where one is still in the phase of learning the importance of taking care of their neighbor.

Sure, but if I had heard several news reports of people finding and returning wallets being falsely accused of theft and subjected to serious legal threats, at that point if I saw someone's wallet lying around, I would just ignore it and keep going.

The bug bounty isn't only about the money. It's also the company's way of advertising 'we aren't crazy assholes like those outfits you heard about on the news'.

(Yes, fixing the law would be a good idea. But in the meantime, a bug bounty is the solution.)

It's a bit far stretched but: You can expect people to be ethically and morally motivated or you can apply security patches to your servers.

I think I'm bikeshedding; the whole "finder's fee" nonsense bugged me. The analogy between lost wallets and servers doesn't actually hold. One can have thieves and indifference in both worlds, but the natures of the exposed items and victims are different. It is more acceptable to people -- though not any more right -- to figure that a faceless multi-million dollar corp can absorb a tiny theft/hit, but it is harder to allow pain to a relatable fellow human being. (...unless, of course, one is affected by bystander effect or pressured by authority)

Hassle free return, drop it in a mailbox. Leaving it is an option, but the custom of returning things to their owner exists because one good deed begets another.

I lost my wallet once and someone turned it into a nearby business, but with all the cash taken out.

Not sure if the finder or the business took the cash but I guess they got their own reward. Not what I would do, but I'm glad they didn't take the cash and trash the wallet..

Don't feel too bad. Could have been a thief at first that just left it on the sidewalk.

The interesting question is "Would you pay a reward to a finder (~10%)?".

I would not. It's an insult.

You should never expect a reward.

You should always give one. Claiming it's an "insult" to thank someone for going out of their way to do something they didn't have to do (v. doing nothing or throwing the wallet out) sounds like an easy excuse to be cheap.

If you need any reward to do what's right you might need to search within yourself what kind of person you really want to be.

Then you are a cheap skate on the cost of other wallet loosers.

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