Those numbers are extremely alarming, and if you don't mind please link me to where that information comes from - is it simple addition of forum users that claim to have been paid? do the numbers come from the block chain? could Pirate be sending BTC from his main wallet to just some other wallet he controls and then claims the transaction as interest?
They're from the blockchain, yes. It's possible pirate has set up some dummy accounts which he pays interest to each week but which go back into a wallet he controls, but what's the advantage to him of making the scheme look bigger than it actually is?
i really wonder how anyone can know this.
the reason is, because when i ask for a withdrawal, it comes in exactly the same transaction as the interest payment.
I didn't realise that. I thought that withdrawals and interest were separate transactions.