User X is in the hospital/sick/dying/had his brain amputated/parents died/grandmother died/dog died/gerbil died. Sympathy ploy to cloud your emotions while he runs away. Old.
Anyone that has read the forum in the past few months? I mean, I remember a year ago, this was a peaceful and trusted land. We didn't need cops or guidelines, we were a small and happy community...
Then bitcoins got valued, attracting interest from every kind of person... EVERY kind of person
There are scammers on every forum. People just need to use common sense.
As for using escrow with random forum member? I don't know you. I don't know person X. It's a hassle. What if person X is a crook? Time on the forum means little - it's just a name. What seller would do that?
Ways to protect yourself:
1. Trust no one. Use an established escrow service like
www.escrow.com. Problem: Not many sellers are willing to go through the hassle or fees. Not a great option.
2. Look at their feedback. If it is only a few, be cautious. If it is eBay, e-mail them through that account to confirm that it is a legit. Someone could create a forum name to match an established eBay account. Also, if it is eBay, check their feedback history to make sure it is not just filled with $0.99 purchases. Even feedback is no insurance. I have been ripped off by someone with years of history and 44 all positive feedback on eBay. Fortunately, I and another buyer recovered our money through PayPal and this virtually never happens. You have to have some measure of trust, but be smart about it. Insurance will help you out.
3. Ask them to ship first. If you have significantly more feedback than them, you have built up more trust than they have. It is a reasonable request.
4. Use
Heatware. It is an established feedback system that you can carry with you anywhere on the internet. Quickly check that the feedback is legit.
5. Pay with AmazonPayments, PayPal or credit cards. All of these have a level of built-in insurance protection. Bitcoins have none.
6. Seniority on forums is meaningless - don't trust people, just because they have been around awhile. Have seen established members use that "trust" and run away with people's money. Even moderators. It takes 60 seconds to register a new account on a forum. Sometimes people get in desperate situations and are willing to rip off others.
7. No trade history and they won't ship first - how much are you willing to lose?
I was burned early on, but have lost no money from fraud in at least a decade of trading by following these guidelines.
Be safe, guys.
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