was just discussing in #general at https://steemit.chat the issue of how to identify and stigmatise sock puppets in steem who use alt accounts to conceal their self-voting activity, or in the potential future scenario post-self-voting-ban, where this becomes the only avenue of exploitation.

It's fairly simple, it basically requires the analysis of the blockchains through which users can exchange out their Steem and SBD, for at least one level, perhaps even deeper, where it may funnel through two or more exchanges to other cryptos in order to become concealed.

Of course, users could use tumblers at this point, but again, I want to repeat that my approach to tackling this issue is not 'the whole solution' but rather a step by step escalation of raising the difficulty level of making these kinds of funds diversions, of earnings gained by the use of alts to sidestep a ban on direct self voting.

It's a pretty big project, but basically, until the diverted coins go out into the Fiat domain, where it is untraceable by simply analysing blockchain activity (and protected by banking system client confidentiality), it is possible that by finding corresponding amount of currency of very close to the same value, one can have some level of confidence that the transactions are linked.

Unlike in the situation where this exact strategy is being used by certain agencies in order to persecute dealers in contraband, regardless of the way you feel about it, by traffic analysis, uses the same principles. Timing correlations and quantitative correlations. This is how they attack the Tor network.

We can use the same thing, just as Steem flips the racket of exclusive right of money issuance used by central banks, to enable the raising of taxes, effectively, without overtly levying a tax (this is how the Steem distribution system achieves being able to pay for content without requiring users to sacrifice their funds to tips and payments, this is called "Inflation Tax" in Austrian Economics), to turn this around and indeed, potentially catch out not just abusers of the system, but even potentially catch us some secret agents out, blow their cover, and send them back to Washington to get Plastic Surgery and a new idenitity.