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I have used localbitcoins.com only to arrange meetings in person in my city at a public place with wifi (typically at a Starbucks, hey, I'm a traditionalist). I have done this about four times, all OK. I give him the money, he sends me the BTC, we wait on a confirmation, and that is that.
I just like the idea of meeting my BTC seller in person. Confidence building... Later on I will work out depositing money in one of their accounts once I more fully trust my counterparty.
Where I'm from (New Zealand), the major traders on LocalBitcoins accept only cash deposits without ID. If you want to send fiat via online banking, you have to submit proof of ID to prevent the risk of chargeback fraud/stolen bank details. After submitting these, you can then trade without the need for further verification up to a certain amount. Of course, all of this is not needed for trades that occur in person.
I think it must be a phishing email, localbitcoins is a well-known site, it is not a scam, dude. I am afraid that email is a fake email, it's a phishing email, are you sure you access the correct link?
I don't think the OP was suggesting that the site itself was a scam. LocalBitcoins is just a neutral platform that allows buyers and sellers to connect with each other. Scams can happen on LocalBitcoins just like the way scams can happen on eBay or Bitcointalk.
Well you shouldn't believe in emails like this. AFAIK, localbitcoins doesn't offer an escrow service, so that could be created by someone who were you dealing with. It's easy to create that email and send you something like "Send this to X address and we will release the funds shortly". Next time, be careful. It's the person you're dealing with that often result into scam, and not localbitcoins per se.
EDIT: localbitcoins do have an escrow. Haven't read the first comments above me.
They have escrow for BTC only. It's mainly to minimize the risk of the person who receives the BTC from running off with the coins before the trade is complete (and also probably because a fiat escrow is unworkable for OTC trades anyway). Hence the responsibility of ensuring that the trade is successful is up to the person receiving the fiat.