<blockquote>
  <p><strong>I have been given " Watch only Address" by one of my friend</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a scam often used by online con-men posing as your friend.</p>

<p>A watch only address lets you watch a bitcoin wallet <em>owned by someone else</em>. They can move their bitcoins away at any time. You cannot spend their bitcoins.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Do we need to pay anything for the blockchain.info for releasing</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. If your "friend" claims to have earlier set up an online wallet for you and that the online service now need paying to release the private-key - your "friend" is lying to you in order to cheat you out of your money.</p>

<p>The Blockchain.info website has a link "Get a Free wallet". If your "friend" used that, they got a private-key for free. Note that this wallet belongs to them, not to you. That applies even if it appears to contain money that you gave to your "friend" or which they <em>claimed</em> to earned on your behalf by mining or trading.</p>

<p>blockchain.info's <a href="https://www.blockchain.com/terms/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">terms of services</a> paragraph 10.2 says</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>When you create a Wallet, the Services generate and store a cryptographic private and public key pair that you may use to send and receive any supported Virtual Currency</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So there is no cost to obtaining the private key when you create a free wallet.</p>

<p>See these similar questions from other victims of scams:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/74362/13866">How can I get a private key for this address</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/73541/13866">Unlocking a Private Key from watch status</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/72746/13866">Recovering the private key from a blockchain wallet address</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-04T10:50:32.967Z
2018-06-04T11:11:23.307Z
2018-06-04T11:11:23.307Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>I have been given " Watch only Address" by one of my friends.</p>

<p>To make the funds credited into my account or to use the BTC, what is way to get the private key?</p>

<p>Do we need to pay anything to blockchain.info for releasing? Is the from my friend who is hiding the private key?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-04T09:54:04.140Z
If someone is asking you to pay to release funds in a watch-only address, they are trying to scam you. You do not need to pay to unlock keys. Keys can be used straight away, provided you have them.
Raghav Sood
<blockchain><wallet><fraud><watch-only>
Reg: Watch only Address
Lakshmana
# Reg: Watch only Address

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-04)

I have been given " Watch only Address" by one of my friends.

To make the funds credited into my account or to use the BTC, what is way to get the private key?

Do we need to pay anything to blockchain.info for releasing? Is the from my friend who is hiding the private key?

**Tags:** blockchain, wallet, fraud, watch-only

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If someone is asking you to pay to release funds in a watch-only address, they are trying to scam you. You do not need to pay to unlock keys. Keys can be used straight away, provided you have them.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-06-04. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

> **I have been given " Watch only Address" by one of my friend**

This is a scam often used by online con-men posing as your friend.

A watch only address lets you watch a bitcoin wallet *owned by someone else*. They can move their bitcoins away at any time. You cannot spend their bitcoins.

> **Do we need to pay anything for the blockchain.info for releasing**

No. If your "friend" claims to have earlier set up an online wallet for you and that the online service now need paying to release the private-key - your "friend" is lying to you in order to cheat you out of your money.

The Blockchain.info website has a link "Get a Free wallet". If your "friend" used that, they got a private-key for free. Note that this wallet belongs to them, not to you. That applies even if it appears to contain money that you gave to your "friend" or which they *claimed* to earned on your behalf by mining or trading.

blockchain.info's [terms of services](https://www.blockchain.com/terms/index.html) paragraph 10.2 says

> When you create a Wallet, the Services generate and store a cryptographic private and public key pair that you may use to send and receive any supported Virtual Currency

So there is no cost to obtaining the private key when you create a free wallet.

See these similar questions from other victims of scams:

* [How can I get a private key for this address](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/74362/13866)
* [Unlocking a Private Key from watch status](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/73541/13866)
* [Recovering the private key from a blockchain wallet address](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/72746/13866)


---

