Bitcoin Forum

Yesterday I was trying to sell some BTC on localbitcoins. Payment method: SEPA. I made a complete sale for the max amount.
I put up a next ad, payment method again SEPA.
Someone wanted to buy, for roughly half the amount, so half the amount was put in escrow. Instead of him confirming making a payment, he send me message:


I have always bought (a dozen times) and sold (once) BTC on localbitcoins using SEPA and I had no idea what this was about. Half the BTC from my ad was in escrow and he wanted me to put the other half in escrow too? According to his information his phone was registered in Canada, his IP was in the USA. I asked him how he was going to pay using SEPA when he was from Canada, he told me he was not from Canada. Now I was getting suspicious. He had just registered an account on localbitcoins, apparently verified it, but his real name didn't show. I asked him how this method works, but all he texted me was "fund the escrow". By then I noticed he had cancelled the order minutes after he had placed it. When I asked him about it, all he did was sending me a new invoice. Then he asked for my email, but I ended the discussion.

What is this method of asking to fund an escrow? It is part of localbitcoins, but I don't see how it can be compatible with my intention of only excepting SEPA as payment method.
Was he trying to scam me or is there any chance that what he was trying to do was legit?

Not only through localbitcoins, in each and every trading website such a scam attempt happens quite often. It's our own responsibility to find those scammers and stay away from such person. With localbitcoins it's found high as majority of the trading happens on bitcoin to USD, where the bank deposit.