[Tutorial] Checklist to find out if an account is a safe buy or collateral...

[SebastianJu]

In an attempt to stop more scams, including scammy account trades or scams with accounts as collateral, I wanted to post a checklist. It is an useful list of checks for bitcointalk users on here, that want to buy an account or take one as collateral. I compiled a list of checks I do when I escrow an account trade. If you want to buy an account OR if you want to take one in as collateral and you don't want to get scammed then consider checking these things and only proceed when all points are cleared to your satisfaction.


Check the following things:

• Most important check for a valid signature. You don't want to buy a hacked account. Don't ever take an account in without a valid signature that matches your safety criteria. The older the signing address the better since it can prove that the account is not hacked. The signature should be signed with an address that the traded account posted in an old post of his. The post should have not been edited. Or when it was edited then the last edit time counts. Check if the signature is valid, for example here: http://wallet-2sx53n.sakurity.com/#verify If the signature verifies and it is from an old posted address then the more sure you can be that it is no hacked account. Three month old posted addresses are not really safe.
• Check the trust ratings of the account. In the profile page on the lower end is a Trust-Link. See the feedback that account received. There is a link to untrusted feedback too. You might check that out too to see if the account behaved badly. Though untrusted feedback will not change the trust numbers you see under each forum users avatar. Though even then you never know when a member giving red trust becomes a default trust member and that trust he gave turns your account red.
  Very important is to check out the Trust Settings at the top too. If users are in there then it might look like default trust members positive feedback though it is only untrusted feedback. Of course that means that the acccount you check the trust with does not have a changed default trust list.
• Account Bans should be mentioned in the Profilepage of an account. Though unfortunately that can only be seen when logged into the account. So it might only be possible when a person, trusted by both the buyer and seller, is allowed to log in.
• Check google with site:bitcointalk.org loan "Username here" and see if something shows up. You can check on this thread on top: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1207414 and see if you find something. Though these checks are no full insurance since loans can be given outside of posts.
• Check google with site:bitcointalk.org scam "Username here" and see if something shows up.
• Check google with site:bitcointalk.org (ban|banned) "Username here" and see if something shows up for previous account bans or signature campaign bans.
• Check posts and activity. If both have the same value check potential activity too. You can use the free script on https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1148181 or, if you don't care that another user might know you check it, you can use the same script someone else hosted for free on his webspace. Some are mentioned in the thread. Take one that is free. In fact practically all potential activity counters are based on that script.
• Check post quality maybe when you want to get accepted into a signature campaign. If the quality is not good then you might make a couple of 20 times posts so sig campaign runners can check this out.

Don't await that this is 100% proof since loans could be given behind the lines too. Or a hacker might have been clever. There is no 100% safety with this.


Probably you know now why account escrows are time consuming. I already think of raising my worth limit again from which i accept a trade.

Anyway... Good luck with your new safe and scamfree account then.

As a tip for loaner... please don't let yourself be used as a quick account buyer. Don't take accounts as collateral too easy. Often enough loaner overvalue accounts alot too. And if you really want to take the account then take the checklist to heart.

@Mods... I did not know if I should post it in a subforum so please feel free to push it where you think it would be more appropriate.

[Mickeyb]

In an attempt to stop more scams, including scammy account trades or scams with accounts as collateral, I wanted to post a checklist. It is an useful list of checks for bitcointalk users on here, that want to buy an account or take one as collateral. I compiled a list of checks I do when I escrow an account trade. If you want to buy an account OR if you want to take one in as collateral and you don't want to get scammed then consider checking these things and only proceed when all points are cleared to your satisfaction.

FTFY

* Account Bans should be mentioned in the Profile on the top of the Trustpage of an account.

No it doesn't, its pass change you are talking about.

* Check google with site:bitcointalk.org loan "Username here" and see if something shows up though that search is no full insurance since loans can be given outside of posts.

Also a link to "TheLedger" is helpful, its a list where (almost)all publicly known loans are listed.

Three month old posted addresses are not really safe.

Don't see how you got to that conclusion, three month old addresses are fine . Although its better to have a look at post history to see if there was a change in post style after the address was posted/staked.

[SebastianJu]

In an attempt to stop more scams, including scammy account trades or scams with accounts as collateral, I wanted to post a checklist. It is an useful list of checks for bitcointalk users on here, that want to buy an account or take one as collateral. I compiled a list of checks I do when I escrow an account trade. If you want to buy an account OR if you want to take one in as collateral and you don't want to get scammed then consider checking these things and only proceed when all points are cleared to your satisfaction.

FTFY

Thanks for fixing the grammar... i didn't even know I has to be written big all the time.

* Account Bans should be mentioned in the Profile on the top of the Trustpage of an account.

No it doesn't, its pass change you are talking about.

I know pass change shows up there but i was pretty sure that a warning appears there too when that account is banned. Or did it show up directly in the profile page instead? I doubt it only would show up when you are logged into that account, right? Would be too much of a risk for buyers then. The google search might not show up anything when the previous account holder does not complain.

* Check google with site:bitcointalk.org loan "Username here" and see if something shows up though that search is no full insurance since loans can be given outside of posts.

Also a link to "TheLedger" is helpful, its a list where (almost)all publicly known loans are listed.

Three month old posted addresses are not really safe.

Don't see how you got to that conclusion, three month old addresses are fine . Although its better to have a look at post history to see if there was a change in post style after the address was posted/staked.

Three months are the timeframe account traders often use when holding an account. When they buy an account that does not have a signature then they post an address and they have a three month old address after they leveled that account up to a potential something or leveled the account up really.

So personally I would not take such account. I had one case where an account was exchanged and the real owner only was informed of the account being active after that time was over. So the older the posted address the more safe it is that the account is getting sold by the real owner. A hacker can't fake such signature really.

Well, guess I missed an important point... the trust... Adding it now and sorting by importance.

You see I changed my ways of writing in small of myself. Though that is only true for I, Iam and I'm or other words like myself too?

[JasonXG]

Wow. There things there I never even thought of. But quite a bit I don't understand. I'm very confused about the signature being valid.

[SebastianJu]

Wow. There things there I never even thought of. But quite a bit I don't understand. I'm very confused about the signature being valid.

A signature can only be created with a bitcoin address. And if someone wants to create a signature for a specific bitcoin address then he only can do that when he controls that address. So he has the privkey for it.

That is why the message should be something specific to the topic. For example" 2016-04-21 Iam, UserA selling my Account UserB to UserC."

Such signature could not be found somewhere. If you gave a message out like "It's me" or "User A" then the user knowing that signature could use that message to claim he created the signature.

If there is a valid signature for an address an account to be sold posted a long time ago (check edit time of post if any) then you can know that the account or seller controlled that address at that time too. The account would not be hacked from that time on.