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Topic: Beware of LocalBitcoins.com - page 3. (Read 14921 times)

legendary
Activity: 1137
Merit: 1000
October 01, 2014, 08:29:53 PM
#69
Yeah I didn't read all the replies, but the OP is wayy off with every statement made.  I have over 500 ONLINE trades, and have traded over 100 BTC's in 14 months, have ran into ONE issue only, about 6 months ago.  I did get screwed once for about $300, (someone mailed me counterfeit money), so I guess its not 100% secure, but with over 500 trades from everything from Paypal and credit cards, to Postal Orders and Moneygram, from experience, I can say, it's safe, and the OP is flat out wrong.
legendary
Activity: 2156
Merit: 1132
July 07, 2014, 03:01:11 AM
#68
Nevertheless, it is the only peer to peer service for buying Bitcoins working globally.
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
July 06, 2014, 12:08:07 PM
#67
you will always have rare stories of robberies with p2p deals (same with craigslist). i have never had a problem doing in-person deals on localbitcoins, and it doesn't seem like things like that happen too often. +1 on public meeting places.
CL and LBC are both dangerous when meeting a stranger in person. You should always meet in a very public place with lots of potential witnesses.

I have never personally been robbed but have dealt with a few very sketchy people.

I've used CL and LBC loads of times. Never had any problems. Of course you hear of horror stories here and there. When large amounts of money are involved, certainly meet in a public place. There is really no reason NOT to meet in public with a bitcoin transfer. But I've sold some furniture and stuff out of my house on CL. Smiley
I would say that the vast majority of CL and LBC transactions will go through without a hitch (I would say that you get a lot of "no shows" but the only thing lost here is time) but when things go wrong they can go very wrong.
full member
Activity: 182
Merit: 100
July 06, 2014, 12:32:33 AM
#66
i've used LBC a few times. never had any problems myself. YMMV.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Buy and sell bitcoins,
July 05, 2014, 11:11:06 PM
#65
you will always have rare stories of robberies with p2p deals (same with craigslist). i have never had a problem doing in-person deals on localbitcoins, and it doesn't seem like things like that happen too often. +1 on public meeting places.
CL and LBC are both dangerous when meeting a stranger in person. You should always meet in a very public place with lots of potential witnesses.

I have never personally been robbed but have dealt with a few very sketchy people.

I've used CL and LBC loads of times. Never had any problems. Of course you hear of horror stories here and there. When large amounts of money are involved, certainly meet in a public place. There is really no reason NOT to meet in public with a bitcoin transfer. But I've sold some furniture and stuff out of my house on CL. Smiley
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
July 05, 2014, 05:25:41 PM
#64
you will always have rare stories of robberies with p2p deals (same with craigslist). i have never had a problem doing in-person deals on localbitcoins, and it doesn't seem like things like that happen too often. +1 on public meeting places.
CL and LBC are both dangerous when meeting a stranger in person. You should always meet in a very public place with lots of potential witnesses.

I have never personally been robbed but have dealt with a few very sketchy people.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Buy and sell bitcoins,
July 05, 2014, 05:06:15 PM
#63
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.

I'm sure that's possible, but seems rare and unlikely. Meet in a public place, and preferably deal with people with some level of positive feedback. But mostly, just meet in a public place. Starbucks has cameras -- that's sort of a deterrent...
I would take feedback with a grain of salt as it is always possible in theory that someone could buy a LBC account. I think it is always important to make your safety your #1 priority.

Of course. Always take things of that sort with a grain of salt. But remember, LBC labels low volume trades as such in feedback. And confirmed trades = % fees on every transaction paid to LBC. So there is clearly financial disincentives in place to padding feedback for the purpose of scamming or selling an account.
sr. member
Activity: 644
Merit: 260
July 04, 2014, 09:57:33 PM
#62
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.

I'm sure that's possible, but seems rare and unlikely. Meet in a public place, and preferably deal with people with some level of positive feedback. But mostly, just meet in a public place. Starbucks has cameras -- that's sort of a deterrent...
I would take feedback with a grain of salt as it is always possible in theory that someone could buy a LBC account. I think it is always important to make your safety your #1 priority.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
July 04, 2014, 09:43:13 PM
#61
you will always have rare stories of robberies with p2p deals (same with craigslist). i have never had a problem doing in-person deals on localbitcoins, and it doesn't seem like things like that happen too often. +1 on public meeting places.
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
It's Money 2.0| It’s gold for nerds | It's Bitcoin
July 04, 2014, 06:11:06 PM
#60
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.

I'm sure that's possible, but seems rare and unlikely. Meet in a public place, and preferably deal with people with some level of positive feedback. But mostly, just meet in a public place. Starbucks has cameras -- that's sort of a deterrent...
That is probably the best advice to give when dealing with large amounts of cash when you do not wish to use the banking system.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Buy and sell bitcoins,
July 04, 2014, 05:40:52 PM
#59
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.

I'm sure that's possible, but seems rare and unlikely. Meet in a public place, and preferably deal with people with some level of positive feedback. But mostly, just meet in a public place. Starbucks has cameras -- that's sort of a deterrent...
sr. member
Activity: 266
Merit: 250
July 04, 2014, 02:54:44 AM
#58
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.
I have done hundreds of transactions with not even one single issue (except a couple of no-shows).
I would argue that the risk of this happening is pretty small but it is still possible. The best way to manage this risk would be to simply meet in a public place and use common sense when dealing with strangers.
legendary
Activity: 2646
Merit: 1137
All paid signature campaigns should be banned.
July 03, 2014, 01:59:34 AM
#57
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.
I have done hundreds of transactions with not even one single issue (except a couple of no-shows).

I personally would only use localbitcoin if I met the person in a busy place. I don't trust anyone (meaning web sites or exchanges) with bitcoins. Also, you have to remember that the Govt has its eye on local bitcoin. IF you buy from the wrong person, they will get you for money laundering, although i think they are just using localbitcoin to try to reel in the bigger fish.
All untrue.
The government has charged multiple people with violating money laundering charges when they were trading on local bitcoin for large amounts and received high premiums
Did you ever find any proof for your claim?  Any links?

The only stories I have ever read involved police arresting someone for selling bitcoins after the undercover officers told the seller many times that they were going to use the BTC for illegal purposes.  I have never seen a story of anyone being charged for money laundering directly.

So unless you have credible links you are just repeating rumors and spreading FUD.
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
July 02, 2014, 11:36:37 PM
#56
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
There have been several threads on here about attempted robberies at face-to-face LBC transactions when the buyer has tried to steal the seller's phone so the release code could be entered.
jr. member
Activity: 43
Merit: 10
July 02, 2014, 06:22:55 AM
#55
Will its not surprising that scamming people using BTC is much easier than using Paypal.
Coz the BTC system is something new to all.
Of course naturally a new system has  many bugs and problems that can be exploited by thieves online.

Just like when you send a btc to the other wallet.
There is no system that can protect the sender/buyer from scammers.
Unlike in paypal that even if the scammer already get your money. You still have  chance to get it back by filing a dispute.
Problem from this dispute system of paypal is that it is also abused by some BUYERS/SCAMMERS who want to get free stuffs. >.<

So there is no PAYMENT METHOD that is safe FOR REAL. Undecided

hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Buy and sell bitcoins,
July 02, 2014, 01:25:19 AM
#54
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.

Sure, I know. The only way I use LBC is for in-person cash transactions. However, to be a liquidity provider and be able to charge markup over/under the exchange price, you need to have a good reputation. That means using LBC escrow (paying fees) and garnering confirmed feedback.
sr. member
Activity: 644
Merit: 260
June 29, 2014, 10:12:03 PM
#53
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
Local bitcoins does allow you to meet to do face to face transactions that are not part of their escrow service.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Buy and sell bitcoins,
June 29, 2014, 04:04:57 PM
#52
I wouldn't use them for too high of volume. After seeing some of those stories, I definitely figured it best not to be a liquidity provider there. And I prefer to deal in cash only -- P2P and not through the site directly.
sr. member
Activity: 644
Merit: 260
June 29, 2014, 02:30:07 PM
#51
I personally would only use localbitcoin if I met the person in a busy place. I don't trust anyone (meaning web sites or exchanges) with bitcoins. Also, you have to remember that the Govt has its eye on local bitcoin. IF you buy from the wrong person, they will get you for money laundering, although i think they are just using localbitcoin to try to reel in the bigger fish.
All untrue.
The government has charged multiple people with violating money laundering charges when they were trading on local bitcoin for large amounts and received high premiums
Do you have any proof for this?  Links?

The only stories I have ever read involved police arresting someone for selling bitcoins after the undercover officers told the seller many times that they were going to use the BTC for illegal purposes.  I have never seen a story of anyone being charged for money laundering directly.

So unless you have credible links you are just repeating rumors and spreading FUD.
I think these cases are one of the same. I think the seller was charging something like a 30% markup on trades. When the police traded with the seller they claimed to be using the BTC illegally, and when the seller did not report this they charged him with a separate crime. IMO this is very bad public policy but still a reality.
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
It's Money 2.0| It’s gold for nerds | It's Bitcoin
June 29, 2014, 02:23:25 PM
#50
I personally would only use localbitcoin if I met the person in a busy place. I don't trust anyone (meaning web sites or exchanges) with bitcoins. Also, you have to remember that the Govt has its eye on local bitcoin. IF you buy from the wrong person, they will get you for money laundering, although i think they are just using localbitcoin to try to reel in the bigger fish.
All untrue.
The government has charged multiple people with violating money laundering charges when they were trading on local bitcoin for large amounts and received high premiums
Do you have any proof for this?  Links?

The only stories I have ever read involved police arresting someone for selling bitcoins after the undercover officers told the seller many times that they were going to use the BTC for illegal purposes.  I have never seen a story of anyone being charged for money laundering directly.

So unless you have credible links you are just repeating rumors and spreading FUD.
The only issue in these cases is if the seller was following AML rules, including having a money transmitter license. If he undercover police told them they were going to use the BTC for illegal purposes and the seller followed all of the AML rules then there would be no case.
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