Bitcoin Forum

A trusted member messaged me after I asked about buying btc and said we could do a transaction. They assured me because they were a trusted member and had a reputation to keep, that I could feel safer about getting my coin. I was paying pay pal and because I had no recourse I only wanted to do a fairly small transaction to test it. The trade went fine and the btc was delivered as promised. I did one or two more transactions over the next week or two and again it went smooth. So my question is, is a trusted forum reputation enough to trust someone? I’m at the point now where I want to buy a substantial amount and it is too much money for me to feel comfortable doing the same type of trade. What should I do or suggest to the seller? An escrow of some kind? Thanks for your help.

Not really, only few trust feedback on this forum doesn't mean they're very trusted person. You can easily get trust feedback from DT member after you trade him (but not all DT will give it)

I don't want to judge the user who have trade with you, but like you said it's "small amount money", their rank and reputation in this forum is not worth to scam a small amount money. If you trade a huge amount money (like 0,01 btc above) and not using escrow, he can probably scam you.

You're right if you want to trade huge amount money with someone, you should use trusted escrow. Here are some few trusted escrow in this forum  Few Trusted Escrow Provider (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5047302.0)

Who is a trusted member?
In my opinion, if one user is a trusted one, he will do reply in your trading thread rather than send you a PM.
Next, don't trust, verify their trust counters and their trust feedback. Pay attention on trust feedback on their past tradings with others.
There are some Escrow services above but if you want to go with a free on, check [FREE ESCROW] DireWolfM14’s Escrow Service [FREE ESCROW]  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5201269.0)

If you are saying the the green feedback is equal to trusted, then I would say no. Check this- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5200663.0
This is just an example, there are a lot of such scammers who are looking for using the green feedback to scam a big amount. So, it is always better to use the escrow service.
However, I do not think any of the forum escrow provide paypal escrow because it can be reversed.

Even a trusted member sometimes can do bad things if big amount of money is involve.  Always be careful in dealing to person you dont know because in these times were a lot of people need money , they can do bad things.

Just use an escrow and make sure you are the one who chooses. Before choosing any escrow, make sure to check the review first.

This is a link of the escrows thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=855778.0

I'm not sure if some of them are still active with that. Make sure to research them first and then make a deal before anything else. Document everything and save it on your personal device. You can never know if something is going sideways or not. Stay safe.

No, don't believe right away, verify it first, you have to learn how this work. Read more post on scam accusations (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0) you will find user have trusted and reputation has defaulted loan, scamming and etc. this is just example (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5233790.msg54053650#msg54053650) one and many more out there.

If going for huge transaction, escrow is the best solution. Dont hesitate to use this to be sure when it comes to dealing big money. It's a precaution actually and we must always do background check. There are some users that even becomes rouge about paying up for a deal even though they are trusted member here.

Head to Lending (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=65.0) and Services (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=52.0) youll be able to find there trusted and reputable members that use escrow.


^{In addition to this, OP you can I also recommend this one and still active} Escrow Service of Bl4nkcode [Active] (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2062906.0)

If you are using paypal for buying, the risk is on the seller because paypal payments are reversible while bitcoin payments aren't.

Still, it's best to use escrow for every time of trades. Even traders with reputation might have their account hacked or stolen or sold and scammers might use the reputation of that account to gain trust and scam people. Always use an escrow!

I suggest to buy directly in exchange than bough  it in individual members here.
Reputation is very important  here in this forum however it will not guarantee  that they will not going to scam you someday. Having an escrow is big help but you need to also paid fees for the service they provide instead of paying fees why not use exchange its almost the same.

Correct.

Continue with doing smaller trades or do what "Rodeo02" mentioned ^{[on an exchange]}...

By doing that, the escrow provider can only protect your part of the deal ^{[since you're the one with reversible method]} and not the other involved party ^[seller] which means, it defeats the purpose of having a middle man for protection.

---

On a side note:
- Since I noticed some users posted an outdated list of escrow providers, here are the latest threads:

• Recommended bitcointalk escrow services (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2439910.0)
• ★LIST★ BitcoinTalk's ESCROW Providers: Ranking & Blacklist ☠ Avoid Scam ☠ (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=276897.0)

Aren't friends and family payments non-disputable?

The only issue is that this option has been discontinued in many non-US countries

If buying here involves fiat, then OP would need to do some KYC and that might be a problem. Paying fees for escrow is worth it if you don't want to send KYC details, especially because you'd still need to pay the exchange fees later.

I think most escrow here won't ask you for KYC even if you deal with a large amount of bitcoin.

Why don't you buy through some particular exchange instead of any member? Nowadays you can find many reputed exchanges are there in the market like Binance, hitbtc, CoinSwitch, Kucoin, etc. It is always good to invest your money through some trusted exchange rather than a human being. Be cautious and happy trading:)

The exchanges suggested by you might require KYC to purchase substantial amounts. That's why it's better to go for P2P deals with trusted users or use non-custodial exchange like localcryptos.com.

OP, if you planning to purchase substantial amounts of Bitcoin from the said user, it's better to use a trusted Escrow as suggested by others. If not, you should try localcryptos.com/ (https://localcryptos.com/). It's a noncustodial P2P exchange, without the need for KYC. And yeah sellers accept PayPal and other payment methods.

The forum and its members provide facilities for you to make transactions that involve money. Users who have a number of positive trust in profile are characteristics of users who can be trusted when you trade in small quantities and in large numbers. You can consider them if you want to trade. But of course you have to take a few steps before you decide to do a transaction such as verifying signed messages and using Escrow if you are making a large transaction.

But if I am in your position now, I will not make transactions with anyone, even though I believe they are trusted members because I can buy it directly on the exchange and it is safer for me and does not require escrow services. Trusting someone you dont know, I think takes courage and can also take all the risks, and I believe that buying it on the exchange wont make us worry.

Actually, the 'forum member' that you are dealing with is the one taking too much risk here dealing with you. He's sending you bitcoin in which transactions are irreversible.

Whilst you paying in PayPal, you can reverse the transaction.

If both of you agreed to hire an escrow, then it's good. But the terms of the escrow for both of you will depend on him.

Doing a transaction on Members with a good reputation is safer also consider their ranks and an active forum member. But ranks do not define anything so be careful. If you plan to do a big transaction, you right get an escrow it is the safest option. We have plenty of trusted escrow here in the forum just go to services board and you can find some trusted escrow services there.

This will always be in the discretion of the seller, since they have been doing a Paypal for Bitcoin exchange without an escrow for several times now I highly doubt that he/she would even deny the OP if he requested an escrow for their next transaction especially if it would be a substantial amount as said by the OP after all the seller is the one who is accepting Paypal payments for his/her Bitcoin in the first place and I think he/she is aware of the risks involve with it. @OP if you are still having doubts with the person even though he is a trusted member you can never go wrong by availing an escrow service since it's your money we are talking about you will always have the right to protect it from any potential scams.

I think this not the right board for this discussion. You can try it here you can get offers: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=53.0

Buying BTC from a forum member is stupidity, even if the member has high green rating of trust your money can corrupt the person into giving up his or her account, we have exchanges for buying and selling coins, they are lot safer

Sure.... I'll just post an article about last year

• Cryptopia lost 2.44 Million $ on ETH and 48 million CENNZ tokens (3.6 Million $ doing the math on my head)
• Binance lost 7000BTC
• Bithumb---19 million $
• Gatehub -- 10 million $ in XRP
• Coinbene--- unknown amount

Reference: https://bitcoinist.com/5-biggest-crypto-exchange-hacks-of-2019/

And that is only 5 places that got hacked, but sure, exchanges are safer.

And better, of course, because they keep our coins for us and can freeze at any time for our own safety until we provide enough KYC data to the. Everything are advantages when it comes to exchanges, I don't know how satoshi didn't make one himself as the main centralized service of his descentralized cryptocurrency!

maybe they can use escrow service for a safer transaction, it would be better if only small amount will traded. And also youre right about that  exchanges will be more safer than trading to another person.

One could get a positive trust if a DT decides to add you to their trust list or decides to write a positive feedback. This doesn't mean the person is forever trusted. Change could happen that's why you need to always check previous trade history of the person you're dealing and if you aren't sure of who you're with, you can use one of the trusted escrow on the forum.

if you put a bait on a trusted person then you are adding risk to be scammed whoever the person is temptations are to be controlled but not every one can take it. there are lots of options where to buy safely then why risk? for me personally its a big no for me

2-of-3 multisig is your choice. I think whether you buy from exchange or a person on this forum (or any P2P services) you still need some trust. Exchanges might be faster and responsive but if you talk about bad motive they can do all they wanted to do on your account. We have a lot of stories a user account got locked, deposit not credited, support not responding and so on. If they plan on exit scam, then you're doomed.

Ideally, you should always use an escrow, with sacrifices on speed and maybe fees.

I'm not saying you shouldn't trust anyone, but still, you need to be sure 100%, as there are a lot of scammers and they actually depend on your trust, so be careful.

I would choose buying BTC on an exchange over buying from a forum member every time. It's because there is little chance that an exchange will be hacked or shut down right at the time I'm making my investment. After I buy BTC, I withdraw it from an exchange to my wallet and I don't have to trust anyone but myself. On the other hand, when I'm buying from a forum member, I have to trust him or an escrow service with my money.

a legit person will never send you a personal message, he will make a thread or will trade with you personally, don't trust a person just because he said he is legit, i have encountered this kind of scam, before specially now in telegram, they will send you a message asking you information, if they findout you have money, they will lure you to something then get away with your money so be very careful specially now, scammer are all over the place because of pandemic

Correct, this can happen as OP mentioned he deal with the person and now planning to make a much bigger deal, for me it's best to have reputable escrow if the person really trustable he won't be bothered to use and guide OP on how to use escrow service if he really intend to make and execute good deal for OP.

Trust score won't be reliable, the user who gave the trust would matter and would add meaning to that whether other users in this forum should trust that particular user when it comes on transaction. But if you are really wanting  for assurance, just buy Bitcoin in exchanges or use wallets which allows users to convert fiat into crypto, Bitcoin perhaps.
Not all the time. If they do know one another in this forum, a user could still be a legitimate one even if he does so. But I do get the point that is why asking in this forum would be a good idea or asking those which are having good reputations.

This is right. Trust points would still be a number at the end of the day and the behavior of that individual cannot be measured by such thing. It would be better to use exchanges when you are planning to invest in crypto. But also, do check the reputation of the exchanger you would engage yourself into.

Fyi, all members of this forum are STRANGERS (except for members who you already know in real life) for us. Green Trust (positive trust) is not a main parameter that members can be trusted. Green trust (positive trust) only serves as a filter that the member has never (not yet) done a bad activity. Imo, If you don't want to use escrow, always do transactions with money where you can afford to lose.

It just means that it isn't enough basis to consider a person as trustworthy. You should check and verify things carefully because it's difficult to determine if a person's intention was good. There are various ways to buy bitcoin and buying from someone you just met online is a serious risk, especially when you're uneducated because there is a big chance that they will use that against you.

You should be both transparent and post that transactions for people to see, I have not experienced buying or selling coins from any members here but I do on my social media account because I can easily trace him, compare here where trust is only our guaranty, I wonder who is that trusted member whom you transacted.

I will call stupidity if :
- You make a transactions without looking the seller's background and not doing due diligence.
- You make a large purchases at first transactions.

Don't forget, at the beginning of the presence of this forum, there are many buying and selling activities among forum members.
But I also agree with your statement, exchange is still the best place for buying and selling activities.

You shouldn't have to worry if the transaction history of the person you're transacting is okay. I've done transaction with one of the reputable member here and it went smooth.

Always be careful when talking to somehow or if you are going to buy bitcoin no matter who the one you are talking to. If you want to assure yourself that you are talking to a trusted peson, you may visit his profile and check his or her trust summary, if he is a beginner in this forum becareful.

There are so many scammers in this virtual world they keep on telling good words just to persuade you on something if you are a person who are easily to belive on a small talks the you may be fooled because it will be advantage for them.

It is really hard to say if a person is not trustworthy jn just one look or even if you already have conversation with them so always be careful.

Exchanges require kyc. So that may not be a problem for you but it is for some of us. I would rather do it peer to peer like btc was designed.

Yes, the exchange requires KYC when you want to buy bitcoin with any virtual card. In this case, this forum is a solution of buying bitcoin without KYC. But you have to more aware during trading. using escrow services is highly recommended.

And yes, green trust it does not mean the user can not scam you. Basically when a lower rank account achieves some trust in very short periods. I also recommend you to trade a small amount always when you will not use escrow. also, keep aware about bitcoin double-spent. Don't send your money without any bitcoin confirmation done. Best of Luck

There are exchanges that do not need KYC for trading like CoinSwitch (http://coinswitch.co/), Changelly Changenow etc., Also, it is safe to trade on a exchange. It takes time and lot of research to judge a member with whom you can trade.

My best advise is that because you want to try a huge amount, you need escrow, I think there are ways you can use escrow on this forum too. Do not trust anyone, it is very good to make use of what could not make anyone go with your money. Even if the transactions is successful, just know that you as a person is not getting things in the right way and you can fall for scam even on this forum or outside. You have to follow they ways you will not be scammed, make use of escrow.

Either using an exchange or dealing with a forum member, it's always risky with large amounts.
Personally, i won't hesitate doing trade with some of the greatest profiles here in the forum rather than using the most trusted exchange ever. With a forum member, I will not have to do kyc or be asked about the origine of my money. In extreme cases, there is the choice to use escrows and multisig wallets.
In my opinion, the risk of being scammed by an exchange is great than dealing with a forum member (trusted ones) .