Danger when buying/selling BTC in person

[asriloni]

I don't sell/buy Bitcoins in person. I usually use a reliable escrow service. Sometimes, I do take the risk of selling/buying without escrow, but I have never had any problems either way.

However, I have never sold or bought Bitcoin in person. Like you have read the article I also think that such business with strangers is unsafe.

i never do that too to be honest because in my opinion it is just nonsense why would anyone do that when it is so easy to do that on an exchange

I think they are just doing that by person buying bitcoin because they didnt really know what is bitcoin if this is scam or not.. so they are looking for someone to meet so that they can sure about bitcoin if this is true or not..
Honestly we can easily exchange fiat in online you dont need to meet someone to buy bitcoins..

There are many trusted escrow if you want buying bitcoin into person online but i think much safe if you buy bitcoin with meet up method which is less risk, less fees and less worries but it is hassle if the both parties was too far in each other.

as he said,meeting with strangers is unsafe especially if the place weren't really safe or atleast guard or police isn't there/near,escrow is indeed the best option but it'd require you to pay little fees but it's no problem and some escrow here even doing it for free,just the most important thing,choose only escrower who have so many good reputation

[PremiumCodeX]

I think, in person it is easier to spot the warning signs from non-verbal gestures so the other person has very hard job if he wants to scam you. That is the most you can do, to make malicious attempts very hard to carry out successfully, because every form of buying/selling has dangers.

[ethereumhunter]

So i was reading an article about someone who got robbed when he tried to buy in person 28000$ of Bitcoin
http://www.coindesk.com/florida-bitcoin-sale-knifepoint-robbery/
Personally i avoid dealings like this cause it is not easy to trust a random stranger.
How about you?do you buy or sell bitcoins in person?If yes have you ever had any bad experiences?

wow $28000 is a big money to buy bitcoin from someone we didn't know. i wonder how he could believe that person which selling bitcoin to his especially he spend big money. i do not want to buy bitcoin with someone that i don't know, especially if i only know his nick or id in internet, i'd rather buy with my friends which selling and buy bitcoin and i can get discount price 

[Viyamore]

I think, in person it is easier to spot the warning signs from non-verbal gestures so the other person has very hard job if he wants to scam you. That is the most you can do, to make malicious attempts very hard to carry out successfully, because every form of buying/selling has dangers.

Well it depends ,because both of you will not recognize each other on the internet any scam on bitcoins is a no law ,also if your trying to buy or sell even in personal it may also take a risk because you expose or do unanonimity transactions this is a big danger .the best thing to buy or sell is on trusted buying/selling outlets or trusted online sites.

[luxuryvilla]

Maybe the guy will threaten our coin with weapons, I don't believe those sellers with face to face trading except he is my real life friend

[danherbias07]

Haven't tried to sell in a stranger or if I would do I would prefer meet ups. This is because I dont trust online transactions anymore. I am a player of one MMORPG and selling thru online is the only thing we can do to transact trading items then the other person will send money. Happened like 2 times to me that I have been scammed. So I said to myself never to do it again if I wont be in front of one person.

[luxuryvilla]

Haven't tried to sell in a stranger or if I would do I would prefer meet ups. This is because I dont trust online transactions anymore. I am a player of one MMORPG and selling thru online is the only thing we can do to transact trading items then the other person will send money. Happened like 2 times to me that I have been scammed. So I said to myself never to do it again if I wont be in front of one person.

Have you reported to the police? I think you should do that if they are scammers, let police catches the scammers.

[MFahad]

Actually when i started the career of bitcoin so most of the negative thinking i have in my mind, than i refer to earn it instead of buying, but when i realize online buy the bitcoin it is trust able, than i buy it but only online.

[chennan]

I mean, if you are going through a site like LocalBitcoins, then you don't really have to do actual IRL P2P transactions.  If you wanted to buy that much Bitcoins, you would probably have to make multiple cash deposit transactions to avoid KYC stuff/suspicion of weird activity going on; plus you would have the benefit of having the proof of the transactions actually taking place by taking pictures of the receipt and sending them to the vendors to prove you have made the purchase... Just going up to someone with that much cash in hand is a really sketchy situation.

[eternalgloom]

It might be good measure to find a public place that also has cameras present, so you'd at least have proof if somethingdoes happen.
And also be o the lookout for sketchy things like people covering part of their face or if they bring other people with them.

I've heard that in the US there are those internet exchange locations set up by the cops for craigslist deals etc. Those might be an option.

[chixka000]

If your place has that same company as mine that allows as to buy and sell bitcoin then i can say that the risk is really low. I trusted them because they are very transparent to their marketing service and they provide security also that can be beneficial to the user their company and government.

[Gaswuwade]

I seen MULTIPLE reports for things like these, If you go through reddit you will find some rather dangerous situations. These people ignore the most important aspect of P2P transactions, Good location. I think these situations could be avoided if you the deal in a bank or the like. BTC is not illegal so I don't see why people prefer doing deals in shady bars..

[Recoon]

Most police departments allow you to do exchanges of value there. Just call ahead and ask. Police want us to trade as safely as possible. If it's a large amount of value being traded, call ahead and ask for a time where an officer can be present to observe in case there are any shenanigans.

Also, its good to trade value at any public place in front of witnesses and cameras. At a mall security office, internet coffee shops, internet cafes, fast food restaurants, convenience store or gas station parking lots, big box retailer, etc.

[thejaytiesto]

I seen MULTIPLE reports for things like these, If you go through reddit you will find some rather dangerous situations. These people ignore the most important aspect of P2P transactions, Good location. I think these situations could be avoided if you the deal in a bank or the like. BTC is not illegal so I don't see why people prefer doing deals in shady bars..

Well, most likely those people are trying to not get taxed/controlled by government. If you sell Bitcoin you get a bank transaction in your account, so you are going to get eventually investigated if you start moving a lot of money.

Some people may want to avoid this my meeting in person. But there's cameras everywhere nowadays so it's not like you properly hide if the government gets after you for some reason.

I have never bought or paid for BTC in person so im not sure how the experience is like. I would probably go to a restaurant or something.

[carlisle1]

there would be a risk from both buying/selling bitcoin in-person or online but i think there would be more risks if you are doing it in-person because whoever you are having a transaction with would know your identity and there will be a possibility that he will do a thing that is not good for you . better to use escrow online .

[densuj]

So i was reading an article about someone who got robbed when he tried to buy in person 28000$ of Bitcoin
http://www.coindesk.com/florida-bitcoin-sale-knifepoint-robbery/
Personally i avoid dealings like this cause it is not easy to trust a random stranger.
How about you?do you buy or sell bitcoins in person?If yes have you ever had any bad experiences?

Well, i buy and sell bitcoins in person on this forum but not face to face, of course i had bad experience (got scamed) but i could took learning from it. If you want make transaction (buy and sell in person) always use escrow or trading with people who has positive feed back.

[prtty2gal2]

So i was reading an article about someone who got robbed when he tried to buy in person 28000$ of Bitcoin
http://www.coindesk.com/florida-bitcoin-sale-knifepoint-robbery/
Personally i avoid dealings like this cause it is not easy to trust a random stranger.
How about you?do you buy or sell bitcoins in person?If yes have you ever had any bad experiences?

Yes definitely. we know that this point of time, not all of us can be trusted. and more on you are selling a big amount of BTC. try to research if the person you are transacting with is a good person. and come to think of it, you can transact with him in a safe place where you can secure the place. You just need to be alert and responsible for your decisions sometime.

I honestly think it is best to meet first and establish each other as friends first and so you can get a feel for whether or not you trust this person with X amount of BTC. But practically buying from or selling to same person is not possible. So, getting familiar with many people consumes lot of time. That may be the reason for success of exchange sites.

[marleybobthedog]

Yes there is always danger with strangers. We know each other online we deal online and whatever we do is all online so we can't trust any random user , he might be a good person, he might me a terrorist, he might be scammer or whatever, so it's really very dangerous to buy and sell bitcoin online with strange people

[Ryananda]

Yes indeed sell / buy bitcoin to someone very high risk. Maybe if you want to buy / sell bitcoin to people who have positive trust green, because it can be trusted. But it also does not guarantee and it is better to buy / sell bitcoin on sites already trusted.

[Dudeperfect]

One must not take any risk especially dealing with large amount of money. Since bitcoin has anonymity, it is almost difficult to trace the identity and even location of the scammer if trade is online.
When dealing offline (aka cash trade) one should make sure that the location for the deal is safe and covered by cctv cameras. It is recommended to meet strangers near police station etc. Always ask for identity while dealing offline because you will have the proof of deal.