Such a guess can only be speculation and not an "educated" guess.

Hi


I sent a $499.95 transfer to Bitinstant via moneygram > ZipZap. Got a confirmation mail from zipzap saying that they have received the funds but I havent heard anything from you guys about the status of the transfer. Can you look into this?

Think I have misplaced the order ID, can you track it through my last name? I can pm you any other details that you might need to track down my order and get it transferd.


Thx.

Hey All!

This thread is for customer issues, service announcements, ect. of BitInstant.

It's monitored by our support team, so if you have an issue, question, comment, feel free to post your order details here and someone should respond within a few hours during normal business hours (a little longer on weekends)

Thanks for all your continued business and support!

-Charlie and the team at BitInstant

It's not the risk of buying bitcoins with paypal - it's the risk of selling bitcoins for paypal.  Example:  you sell me 1 bitcoin and I buy it by paying you $100 thru paypal.  Once I receive the bitcoin from you I file a dispute on paypal.  Paypal reverses the transaction and gives me back my $100.  Now I have 1 Bitcoin I didn't have to start with, and my $100 in my paypal account.  You on the other hand have lost 1 bitcoin and have no additional money in paypal.

Isn't the risk of buying bitcoins with paypal the same risk as buying anything else with paypal?  What is considered to be the safest way to do this other than going to someone in person and making sure you get the cash in hand?

There have been an increasing number of posts from recently registered users requesting purchases of bitcoins with PayPal. While new users may indeed be enthusiastic about Bitcoin and be accustomed to using PayPal for prior purchases, this type of request is also exactly what scammers do to steal bitcoins.

Traditional payment networks (including PayPal) suffer inherent weaknesses:

• Some payment fraud is unavoidable,
• Completely non-reversible transactions are not possible; payment processors are involved in disputes,
• Identity fraud and remote account takeover using stolen credentials are possible,
• Payment processors can block funds and freeze accounts,
• You must provide your credit card or account number to sites, which can be stolen by hackers to spend your money.

Bitcoin has none of these problems:

• Confirmed Bitcoin payments are absolutely trustable,
• Payments are non-reversible; money cannot be recalled by the sender,
• Identity theft is a non-issue - payment recipients don't need validate the identity of buyers to trust their payment,
• Nobody else can interfere with your Bitcoin balance or your ability to send or receive money,
• You are in control of your money - when you send a payment, the recipient or hackers cannot make fraudulent withdraws from your wallet.

Why is it difficult to purchase Bitcoins with your old-fashioned money?

If this is the fault of Bitcoin, it is because Bitcoin is too good. If you receive a payment with Bitcoin, you can be 100% sure that the money is yours and it can't be disputed or taken back out of your wallet. Credit cards, ACH checking transfer and money wires, Chase Quickpay, PayPal, Dwolla, and most any other banking payments, however, can be reversed - they are less trustworthy than the Bitcoins you are trying to buy. The person offering to buy Bitcoins with PayPal may either dispute the payment with PayPal, reverse the payment through their credit card processor, or even may be using a hacked or stolen PayPal account.

This is why even Bitcoin exchanges have rigorous verification procedures - they need to verify your identity thoroughly, not because of Bitcoin, but because they are taking your government currency, transferred through banks and payment processors, which is fundamentally problematic. Exchanges that only deal with Bitcoin-based virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin to Namecoin) have no such identity requirements.

In addition, PayPal specifically disallows currency exchanges, and are Bitcoin-hostile. When you complain that you were ripped off, it's just as likely your account will be frozen.


So how can you obtain bitcoins, if nobody on the Internet can tell the difference between you and a foreign crime syndicate? If you don't wish to go through the lengthy verification procedures on exchanges, I recommend you first investigate local traders who are willing to exchange bitcoins in person. Sites such as https://localbitcoins.com/ or http://www.tradebitcoin.com/ may help you find local Bitcoin users. Also, Bitcoin is for commerce - sell something and accept Bitcoin!