Thanks OP for bringing this topic, I recently made a p2p transaction where the buyer was supposed to pay me a certain amount in naira, let’s say N562,000 and instead he sent N56,200 to my account. I wasn’t sure if it was planned or an error on his part, so I contacted him. He later made a balance payment through another bank account. This made me very suspicious, I believe this is a tactic scammers now use to trick OTC traders, they send an amount that looks like what they are suppose to pay, and tell the seller they have paid. Close inspection will show that the figures do not match, like OP said “don’t let the pressure get to you”, make sure you have the agreed amount in your account before releasing the coins.
You were able to dictate this scam because you paid attention to details. I assume that he intended to make you think you have received the correct amount which will make you release the coin. Getting back your funds after you have dictated the error would become a big problem. Thank you for this information. Another method of scam is fake alert. These scammers will use software to construct a bank alert that is similar to your bank. If you are not patient enough to scrutinize the alert you might be pushed to release the coin. An easy means of distracting this scam is to check your bank account balance after the transaction before sending the coin.
Bitcoin should eliminate the need for exchanges too. Bitcoin is best for going to the shop (physically) and pay for some goods you will take home with yourself. Best would be if fiat would be completely off this equation. But it's not.
Now, what you mean by getting your payment different? Best would be face to face, in cash. But we also know that this has issues, from the fact the one who may want to trade with you is probably 1000s of miles away to the fact that face to face money operations face at least the risks of robbery and counterfeit.
And.. yeah, this means we "are back to" exchanges and banks and all the hassle with the (lack of) privacy. And yes, this also means we're using Bitcoin in the wrong way. Sadly. Is there a better option today (apart of moving to El Salvador)? I doubt it..
I have suffered so many problems with bank transactions and when I saw Bitcoin, I was pleased that these network issues and delays have come to an end. Sadly, I still have to face a more complicated process for me to exchange my coins. I am still foreseeing a time when I will work in a shop and pay with bitcoin without any restrictions. This can be accomplished by the spread bitcoin education and adoption. I have considered meeting with people face to face in public places but this is not also good for privacy. I just hope that a better means of P2P trading will be devised very soon.