Bitcoin Forum

so somebody is offering me bitcoins ridiculously cheap. and he's probably trying to scam me. but it's too good of an offer, i have to see what's up.

how many confirmations is safe? (i'm buying 40btc)

i'm gonna meet him in a bank to be safe. and not gonna hand him any cash until i get the btc.

anything i should be concerned with?

Yeah I'd be concerned with gun violence, just off the top of my head.  Remember if something seems too good to be true, <fill in the blank>.  What I'd fill in that blank would keep me from checking out such a transaction.

i think 1 confirmation is enough, after 1 confirmation you are the real owner of the bitcoin balance.
you can send it to your other wallet/address to make the balance is "really" avaible in your wallet.

i recomended you to use 3rd wallet in the 2nd transaction. if exchanger accept it, your bitcoin is safe, then you can withdraw to your private paperwallet.

meeting and transacting inside a major bank. if he tries to pull a gun out there, then gl to him.

from what i've read..

it's almost impossible, but not impossible to reverse after 1 confirmation. regardless if you send it to another wallet.

i'm thinking the coins might be stolen.

"if" they are stolen btc, and i buy them, anything i should be concerned with?

probably. they are stolen. dont buy it. think about that, why he is selling to you?

Well sure, it'd be like one-stop shopping for a bank robber, no?

I piece of advice. Don't go alone. Inform your trusted friends, or two what is going on and take their with you.

Let them sit in some table near yours. I would personally wait for 2 confirmations, just like most exchanges do.

Better to be secured first than sorry. I agree with your suggestion to be with your friends or someone whom you can trust and meeting inside a bank is quite a secured transaction. I agree that you wait until the transaction is done. until you handed a cash or much better if you deposit also in his account. :)

Well 40 BTC is big amount for me, i think 5 confirmation is enough until bitcoins be received with save on your wallet. If everything went fine then you can give the funds to him. It is more safe for you and good luck.

I agree to this advice go with a friend much and much better have a back up friends hiding for best safety .cause 40btc is too big amounts a money and life is at risk at all especially meeting up with an stranger we don't know unexpected things that can happen .
Also secure the place watch out for any mysterious people around that place before meeting him .safety is your first priority than transacting cheap btc price.

 Maybe 4 confirmations or more for that big amount will wait .

Using escrow will be better than dueling just with the seller and make your amount are more safe and i think that is the best answer for you in this time.

Escrow for an in person Bitcoin trade? There would be no need for that. As already mentioned in the thread just bring someone or two friends with you and go meet him in the bank. I also would suggest that the one you are trading with to email you his ID and his Facebook page or some other social media account. Always be safe, good luck with the trade.

read this: https://bitcoin.org/en/developer-guide#verifying-payment about number of confirmations.

what you are doing is the safest way of trading bitcoin especially since you are using cash and doing the trade in a safe place (a bank).

what comes to my mind:

• 40BTC is nearly $25K make sure your bank gives you that kind of money and doesn't become suspicious of this kind of cash withdrawal!
• for this kind of size I suggest waiting 6+ confirmation (too paranoid but) check the social media to see if bitcoin is still the same as before for example this from 2015 (https://bitcoin.org/en/alert/2015-07-04-spv-mining)
• bring your own trusted device (phone laptop,...) and check the transaction from trusted sources
• also make sure you are not gonna get mugged after you leave the bank! going with a bodyguard can solve this :)

i'm agree with this, don't go alone, more friends go with you is more safer for you, cause your transaction is big amount, no one know what will happen after meet with them and wait after 2 or more confirmations and you can transfer the money, but for me i will not make a deal with stranger person with big money, why he must sell to you, so be carefull and good luck

I don't think there should be a problem if you meet him at a major bank.

As you already mentioned, the coins might be stolen, and this is also my opinion.

If you don't care to deal with stolen coins, you can take that offer, just wait 1 confirmation and you will be good, it's almost impossible to reverse the transaction after it is already confirmed at least once.

he maybe doesn't want to mess up with the coins so he prefers to sell it for a lower price.


Good luck to you!

This is the best advice. Never go alone, A mate watching your shoulders is always recommended

Everything.

Confirm the source of bitcoins before you go there. Although there would be no way to trace the BTC to you, I still wouldn't get involved in something where the seller is obviously dodgy.


Any person holding 40BTC knows how much he can sell at. While getting quick cash can = discounted price, but the discount can't be unrealistic. If its a very big discount, do 2BTC trades, amount you are willing to give up. Just FYI, the risk doesn't end just because you are meeting at the bank:

1- Meet at bank
2- Transaction goes smoothly, he transfers first.
3- Follows you back to home.
4- Takes BTC kidnaps you because a guy willing to spend that money on bitcoin obviously has some more dough.

Would hope that doesn't happen, but I wouldn't go for such a transaction unless I have traded smaller amounts before and I am not in my own city. Meet at airport, do transaction. Get on a flight back home. Could still be followed but I am willing to take a smaller risk.

i see many talking about concerns about the origin of the 40 bitcoins. but you shouldn't mind because first of all you are buying with cash which will eliminate any kind of connection to you even though you are buying inside a bank. even if it is stolen coins nobody can say anything to you since you have bought these coins fair and square.
and if you are really concerned you can always use a mixer to mix the coins and get the clean coins out.

but i agree on the part that you should never go alone.

40btc is only 25k? what house doesn't have 25k worth of stuff. kidnapping me or following me home seems excessive, when any house has that amount and more.

(i don't live in a 3rd world country)

This is big amount of money and coins for one transaction. It is good decision to do it at public place with lot of witnesses. It would be also good to take someone with you. But I stil think it would be wiser not to buy all this coins just from one person. And if price is so cheap then something smells bad.

Mate its not 25k.

25k is liquid cash you are willing to trade. So many assumptions can be made about the persons net worth from that.

If it were at a decent discount I wouldnt blink too much. But as you mentioned its an big discount.

it's not 25k liquid cash. it's btc that i'll have. he will already have the cash, since a trade would have been completed at the bank. i think this makes a huge difference in their approach.