Be safe: READ THIS BEFORE TRADING/BUYING/USING YOUR MONEY

[Tomatocage]

Alright, so I've been PM'd by a few people what red-flags to look out for since I have a pretty good track record of spotting scammers. Sometimes I get it wrong, but better safe than sorry.  Here's a couple rules to follow to avoid becoming a victim:

1. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's nearly a 100% chance that one of the parties is a scammer. I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.
2. Always use escrow.
3. See rule #2.

[zdarkazn]

Thanks for the information

[psybits]

Another sign: when you are a reputable member like me, and when you ask the noob to send first and suddenly they stop replying to your PM. Scammer! Maybe I should start a list in the public interest?

Latest possible scammer(s):

- penetration -> confirmed scammer has scammed multiple people



EDIT: I have decided I will keep this list updated and maintained. (and of course remove people who later turn out not to be scammers - but if they are genuinely looking for a trade and have only about 100 posts why would they not send first to someone like me? Hopefully I can help everyone here)

[FuzzyBear]

excellent information and advice... amazing list well done for ur hard work... hope u were not scammed!!

[BBQKorv]

Never trust provided TXIDs on new altcoins without block explorer. Better just wait to see the coins in your wallet and fully confirmed. Some people try to send manufactured TXIDs/screenshots to "proof" they made a payment.

[Trading]

1) Don't just trust the status of a member, anyone can be a hero member. This just means that he invested some time on his membership. He can always decide that a profitable scam will be a good payment for his time. However, a Hero account without negative feedback can be sold for more than 0.5 btcs. Therefore, he probably won't scam you for less than that, because a negative feedback from you would lower its value substantially.
2) Never deal with anyone without doing a search in the forum with his nickname, in order to check if he has scam accusations.
3) Ask for his coin address and always search it on http://blockchain.info, www.cryptocoinexplorer.com or other similar site, to verify if his address has the amounts he wants to sell.
4) Be very suspicious about proposals well under market price or if he accepts your proposal under market price with no negotiation.
5) Look for the reputation/trust of the member, checking also his successful trades, in the form of vouches from the other party on the deal. Be aware that positive trust can be forged by making and using more bitcointalk accounts and the trust system can be more or less avoided by changing its settings.
6) Even if he has some reputation, never send all the money in one transfer: send one first small tranche (ex. 0.05 btc) and wait for his payment. Send a second little higher tranche and wait again, etc. Small increments, because he might decide to pay you the first and second, to scam a bigger tranche. Always suspect if he doesn't accept to trade in small tranches, unless he has an excellent reputation.
7) If he has no reputation (specially if he is a newbie or Jr.), even small tranches are very risky. Better use an escrow system, like the one of www.btcrow.com, or a trusted member, or you might need to send more than 10 very small tranches. Think well before sending more than 0.15 btcs (it's considerable money in some countries) and only after 3 or 4 successful payments of 0.05 and 0.1 btcs.
8] For big amounts use an escrow system, unless the member has an excellent reputation. If he doesn't accept, forget the deal. Always protect your capital.
9) Only trade codes (ex. of virtual gift cards) with members with a very good reputation or using a very trusted escrow member that will have to go to the account and apply the code himself. The buyer will have to give the escrow person his password and change it again after. With an automatic escrow system, the buyer can claim falsely that the code was already redeemed when he received it or that his account was blocked after.
10) Don't sell any cryptocoin to paypal or other reversible system, unless the buyer has good reputation. The buyer can chargeback and, since it's against paypal's TOS to trade currency, paypal usually gives your money back to the buyer.


Here is a list of escrow members: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=108716.0

[pekv2]

3) Be very suspicious about proposals well under market price or if he accepts your proposal under market price with no negotiation.

This is another reason bitcointalk.org should have an appraisals section created.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=192090.msg1989926#msg1989926

[xqr]

Is there an actively maintained scammer list anywhere? Would like to add the name "crymo" (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=111941) to it.

Ripped me off for 500 YAC/0.25 BTC

[Trading]

Post it here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0
Present evidence of your transfer to him, like the transfer id and, if possible, a scan of a message from him stating his address to where you sent the transfer.

[ronaldinho_07]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=195544.msg2032797#msg2032797
pls add this one to the scammer list

[Simran]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

[Trading]

Like all "human sciences rules", those "characteristics" certainly don't intend to be exact (alright, the 100% on newbies is an exaggeration, but to exaggerate is part of the way someone makes others aware of certain dangers), their goal seems to be to raise reservations on certain members based on past experience. Some scammers do adopt female names as a way to better scam men or adopt normal names as nicks trying to inspire trust.
I wouldn't make a list of suspects based only on those "characteristics", out of respect for their reputation, but, from a collective interest perspective, it might be very useful.

[Guru01]

Good post.

[RichG]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

Simran, I agree. People are quite stereotypical around here.
Really pisses me off.

[RichG]

EUGENICS!!!

Stop encouraging them!

[John (John K.)]

Point 0 is absolutely correct almost 50% of the time.  You'll agree so if you were getting the mountainous scam report PM's like I get daily...

[Zaih]

Scammer awareness is a great way to further prevent the issues that have been arising recently. It's becoming such a joke really.

Thanks for this topic, it's a great way for people to realise the environment they're dealing in.

[Tomatocage]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

^^ Listen to this guy. He got 1000 LTC stolen right from his own BTC-E account, so he's definitely the picture of perception and awareness.

[Simran]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

^^ Listen to this guy. He got 1000 LTC stolen right from his own BTC-E account, so he's definitely the picture of perception and awareness.

And want to know the awesome part? I got 2000 LTC back from the same dude that hacked me. I ain't complaining.

[John (John K.)]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

Please read carefully what he said.

Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER

Seriously, this is the truth. I'm sick and tired of seeing yet another 'zomg Imma got hacked my pants off' thread/PM.

[Simran]

I disagree with a few of the points.

0. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself). I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.

100%? NEVER? I trade with newbies all the time. This is a ridiculous stereotype of members here. This is just retarded.

1. New account (usually created within the last 3 months, plus or minus)

No, this correlated with my response to 0.

3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name

Look at my name. My username is my First name. Have I ever scammed anyone? No. I use a combination of my First and Last name on some forums. Ridiculous.

4. Signs posts with full name

--Simran Singh

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.

Please read carefully what he said.

Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER

Seriously, this is the truth. I'm sick and tired of seeing yet another 'zomg Imma got hacked my pants off' thread/PM.

When I was a newbie, I traded with newbies. You just gotta analyze the situation in more depth, because this point is too broad.

[smoothie]

What I find funny is that so many people complain about my trolling yet I'm likely one of the most honest people on this forum...sometimes brutally honest.

But never scammed anyone nor ever intend to.

It is always the self proclaimed saviors that offer x% on your money if you send it to them blah blah blah.

Scammers in my book are the equivalent of PUSSIES who are too afraid to go hack it (no pun intended) on their own. Damn mamma's boys.  

[paperman82]

Was there talk of an escrow bot? Wouldn't that fix the scamming issue?

[legendster]

Since I m on this list.
Please list my exchange as well. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=176877.msg1841315#msg1841315

[funnybear]

Mark,that helps a lot.
But how can i become a full member

[MashRinx]

Jr./Full member is tied to post count, specifically.  That is why the member type alone shouldn't account for much, if anything.  Just today I saw a member who has over 500 posts with an account just 17 days old.  I have been around since Jan 2012 - older than some, not older than others - and have just recently become a full member myself.

[cryptostore07]

Very helpful post.

[panoss]

1.000.000 bitcoins needed to build spacecraft.
will send them back with interest when i reach  planet Nibiru

Donations Accepted : 1KeS7fsryzCb1LkrVWscWaug5rqhvFAwuR

[broken_pixel]

^ Good stuff! Post your schematics of the propulsion system please. 

[bernard75]

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female
9. New user trying to sell an Apple iAnything

Thx for the morning laugh.
Other than that excellent job!!!

[JohnSy]

Thanks for the news

[jonytk]

You forget to add:

-new XXX coin that has no real use, it's a copy-paste with a cute website and, the owner claims it's going to replace bitcoin / skyrocket because x and y.

(only miners that get magic internet money buy this with their new minted money... thus pumping)

Also btc-e-troll-box-speak:

to the moon! : my assets just multiplied 2x, 3x, 5x, i'm selling as fast as i can without plunging the price.

bitcoin crash! /Gox down /bitcoin now illegal : i just sold my bitcoins, at current*1.2 price i want to buy them even cheaper!

X-coin will be in gox: i just bought x
x-coin dropped from gox, plunged, crashing, forked... : i just sold

[legitnick]

This is a great repository of information for the noobies, and long time members as well.  Bookmarked, thanks!

[PsychoticBigBoy]

Yes, helpful post. Thx.

[b!z]

This is a very useful guide. It is extremely important to use a trusted escrow when trading with people you do not trust.

[bernard75]

This is a great repository of information for the noobies, and long time members as well.  Bookmarked, thanks!

Looking at your trust score i dont know what to say.

[mryayo]

Good to know about scammers thanks!

[smoothie]

With all the announcements on this board you would think people would be a bit original in their way of "anncouncing".  Most threads seem to have "[ANN]". 

[ranmn7]

I'm somewhat new to this, but I have a question.

Why would I trade directly with another person at all? I use the exchanges myself to trade my mined coins, and haven't had any problems at all. Course I've only been doing this for 4 months now, and have only done a few trades.

Took me forever to figure out how to get out of newbie jail on this forum, talk about frustrating!!

Appreciate all the tips about scams though.

Also, a note. I don't have a use for ianything, so won't buy those.

I don't care about whether someone is male or female when conducting business, I think that comment/stipulation is very sexist and silly.

I get the impression that some time in the past, the only way to obtain bitcoins was thru individuals, which isn't the case now.

[smoothie]

I'm somewhat new to this, but I have a question.

Why would I trade directly with another person at all? I use the exchanges myself to trade my mined coins, and haven't had any problems at all. Course I've only been doing this for 4 months now, and have only done a few trades.

Took me forever to figure out how to get out of newbie jail on this forum, talk about frustrating!!

Appreciate all the tips about scams though.

Also, a note. I don't have a use for ianything, so won't buy those.

I don't care about whether someone is male or female when conducting business, I think that comment/stipulation is very sexist and silly.

I get the impression that some time in the past, the only way to obtain bitcoins was thru individuals, which isn't the case now.

Trading for fiat yes you should maybe use an exchange.

But you can't purchase goods on an exchange unless the exchange has its own market place for buying and selling goods.                                 

[Et Filii]

Thanks for the info.

[rampalija]

Nice informations for (us) newbies, i will take care

[o3u]

One trait you should add to the list above is he sort of wrote in broken english.
i will add details of the scam in the proper thread

Thanks for the info, i will trade with extreme caution every time now!

i got scammed by jovani75
here is his profile there:
http://bitsharestalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=279

he confirmed he had an acocunt here by PMing me with the same nickname and account here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=155646

this is the "public thread" where i ask to do the exchange/confirm.
bitsharestalk.org/index.php?topic=326.0

the negative review i left on his profile:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=155646

[rampalija]

8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Oh, yeah, cause females don't exist on the internet. Sexist? Probably not, but this is not true.
[/quote]


This is ridicouls, 10% of miners are females. Maybe he has a problem with females, but not me.

I agree in RL you dont trust to women

[satosh007]

Great informative post plus discussions

[bob131313]

Reminder. Had to remind a rl client that alts are like penny stocks. Keep in mind that alts are unproven, most want to get value to get btc. Most once hit an exchange are abandoned. To the new folks. Read the specs of the coin you are buying.

As an aside. The fact that non techie clients are talking about alts, means that this is just the beginning of the alt boom. ::insert spartan's hold image:::

[farafaucet]

I LOL'd at 8   

[Iccarus13]

I'm not posting much, but I am reading and lurking around. Therefore I'll always have that "newbie" status. Isn't it easy to use trading sites like mtGox or btc-e to trade you're altcoins. And sites like bitonic (euro only) to cash out? That way the chances are that you are a victim of scamming is like pretty non existing?

[middlepath]

Learn heaps. Very useful info. Thanks!

[Time Sheep]

So you are basically ruining my chance of doing any deals at all, just because I'm not an active poster?
That is madness.

Of course I agree that an escrow is always to be used. It's just about picking the right one.

[john_han]

Thanks for the information.it is so nice to the newbie like me

[Jollyburner]

i am here to trade tons of coin, u guys send me first then i send u, ok?

i have mirrions u just send me frist ok? i know u think sometimes its not safe to trade with people on interwebs but its safe.

for today only if u send me 5 BTC i will return you 50000000x profit gtd. i use advanced investment strategy to maximise returns. i send the coins to china where they are cleaned and serviced, then they move them along to the west, through Damascus. here there are inspected and graded according to numericalologiness and then allotted tentative departure dates. we don't ship them, they fly first class. straight to Honolulu. from there the coins are treated to a day at the spa in waimea, followed by a traditional Hawaiian bbq. the coins stay at the five star Hilton Waikoloa and then the next morning its back on the jet over to America. here they will attend a one-day intensive coin training course, designed by the top coin professionals in the industry. this rigorous program will culminate with a battle between all the coins. in a round-robin format they will be eliminated by cutting the bottom 90% from each round, until only one coin is left. this coin is then declared the ultimate winner of the coin of the year award, and is now priceless. the remaining coins which were cut are all flushed down the toilets right there in the trade center to be swallowed by mackerels in the harbor and distributed globally. the winning coin is now flown directly to Norway via private jet (G7 experimental, who cares were ballers now) then from there is loaded into the alien spacecraft for the flight to Germany.

now here is where it gets interesting. its actually going to arrive in Germany 2 days before all this started. something to do with time dilation and dimensional wormholes, its all too much for our tiny minds to get wrapped around, just know that the coin will appear in Germany 2 days before you send me your BTC, so the investment is secure. you have actually already been guaranteed a profit before you even started!

all you have to do is start thinking about sending me the coin, and 2 days ago your coin already appeared in Germany!

so right now your priceless coin of the year supercoin wow so much coin appreciate coin is waiting to be shipped directly to you from our top secret facility in Germany. all you will need to do is provide your shipping information and it will be packaged according to your specifications and shipped with a carrier of your choosing, insured for 400 billion dollars (the maximum, we checked) so you are safe no matter what happens. alternatively it will be shipped by military transport plane to a suitable airstrip of your choosing anywhere in the world. this transport is escorted by a 7-10 man security force/counterstike team armed with military assault weapons and carrying special diplomatic status. upon arrival at the destination airstrip a convoy of local security forces will rendezvous with the escort security force and transportation to the drop point will commence immediately. there will be a 15 minute pickup window, after which time our team will clear the area for extraction if the drop has been unsuccessful.

in the event of a failed drop your coin *WILL* be delivered by 4th dimensional aliens 2 days prior to the day it arrived in Germany.(4 days before you thought of sending me the coin) You almost certainly will not want to miss the drop as the aliens that work with us don't appreciate being sent on errands to deliver priceless coin of the year coins to humans, and already have a general disregard for humans as a species. consider the  possibility that they will alter your memory of events that have transpired. (were pretty sure theyre doing it, but we cant get any proof of course, we cant remember anything they don't want us to) You may find that you don't remember ever receiving your priceless coin of the year coin 4 days ago after you invest with me. rest assured, this is likely just a result of the alien memory cleansing. after 4 more days have passed then the 4th dimensional negative universe should have re-synced with your frame of reference and your coin will reappear in your wallet. it was there the whole time but you couldn't see it because your reality was pitch shifted 90 degrees from the polar center of the supermega galaxy so that you were half synced with the 4th dimensional negative universe, and the coins' was not, it only existed on a parallel timeline, an implication of the time paradox of it being delivered 4 days before you thought about investing.

so not all new members are scammers and rip off artists, some of us are running legitimate global businesses and just because we don't have a high post count doesn't mean your investment isn't guaranteed secured by #1 to the moooooon!


BTC - 18GABSizDLAeh91cysDFZgCL8xyjm4Sght

LTC - Leiefg1fQyaTqGVGRC5L1b1gBSWdDn2jpV

[hilariousandco]

There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's a 100% chance that you will get scammed (or you're a scammer yourself).


3. Use of a seemingly realistic first/last name as their forum account name
4. Signs posts with full name
8. Any user blatantly claiming to be female

Haha, these are usually true, but the 100% chance of being scammed isn't exactly accurate.

[Jollyburner]

why im not recieveing investors/?

limited time offer!!!

[PDcologne]

Guys beware of a user named LALA scammed me out of litecoin last night.

He or she is trading for earthcoin mostly it seems. LALA seems to be fairly active on the forum also, but after running a check on the name I see I'm not the only one who has been caught out!

I should have been more careful and lesson learned.

 

[hilariousandco]

Guys beware of a user named LALA scammed me out of litecoin last night.

He or she is trading for earthcoin mostly it seems. LALA seems to be fairly active on the forum also, but after running a check on the name I see I'm not the only one who has been caught out!

I should have been more careful and lesson learned.

 

Make sure to post in this users scammer thread with details/evidence: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=386535.0

[blockhead99]

Thanks for this, OP!

[meade16]

All Newbies should be pointed to this when they join.

[23940103]

whats the best way to buy coins with USD?

[hostmaster]

Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. This is my new motto thank you Forum sites generally full of danger not only newbies but also usual members.

[Mesterlovesz74]

Never trust provided TXIDs on new altcoins without block explorer. Better just wait to see the coins in your wallet and fully confirmed. Some people try to send manufactured TXIDs/screenshots to "proof" they made a payment.

[Mesterlovesz74]

Thank you for the info, I am new here and there is a bug in the forum! I logged in 10 minutes ago, this is my first post and it still says my last post was less then 360 sec ago!

How is it possible while I am only reading the forum?

Is this some kind of sick joke??

[EasyD]

1) Don't just trust the status of a member, anyone can be a hero member. This just means that he invested some time on his membership. He can always decide that a profitable scam will be a good payment for his time.
2) Never deal with anyone without doing a search in the forum with his nickname, in order to check if he has scam accusations.
3) Ask for his coin address and always search it on http://blockchain.info or www.cryptocoinexplorer.com to verify if his address has the amounts he wants to sell.
4) Be very suspicious about proposals well under market price or if he accepts your proposal under market price with no negotiation.
5) Look for the reputation/trust of the member, checking also his successful trades, in the form of vouches from the other party on the deal. Be aware that positive trust can be forged by making and using more bitcointalk accounts and the trust system can be more or less avoided by changing its settings.
6) Even if he has some reputation, never send all the money in one transfer: send one first small tranche (ex. 0.1 btc) and wait for his payment. Send a second little higher tranche and wait again, etc. Small increments, because he might decide to pay you the first and second, to scam a bigger tranche. Always suspect if he doesn't accept to trade in small tranches.
7) If he has no reputation (specially if he is a newbie or Jr.), even small tranches are very risky. Better use an escrow system, like the one of http://www.bitmit.net, www.btcrow.com, or a trusted member, or you might need to send more than 10 very small tranches. Think well before sending more than 0.2 btcs (it's considerable money in some countries) and only after successful payments of 0.1 and 0.15 btcs.
8] For big amounts use an escrow system, unless the member has an excellent reputation. If he doesn't accept, forget the deal. Always protect your capital.
9) Only trade codes (ex. of virtual gift cards) with members with a very good reputation or using a very trusted escrow member that will have to go to the account and apply the code himself. The buyer will have to give the escrow person his password and change it again after. With an automatic escrow system, the buyer can claim falsely that the code was already redeemed when he received it or that his account was blocked after.
10) Don't sell any cryptocoin to paypal or other reversible system, unless the buyer has good reputation. The buyer can chergeback and, since it's against paypal's TOS to trade currency, paypal usually gives your money back to the buyer.



http://www.bitmit.net:
Just post anything you want to sell for bitcoins or ask the seller to do the same about something you want to buy. The payment in bitcoins is sent to their escrow system. It's of no use for the buyer to lie about paying, because the page of the deal indicates automatically if the bitcoins were or weren't receive. If you are the seller and sent the goods to the buyer (for instance, another currency), once the buyer clicks item received, you receive the bitcoins from bitmit.net. If the buyer doesn't confirm that the goods were received, you write bitmit with evidence that you sent (like the transfer id) and they pay you fast. There is a 1.90% fee to pay.
http://www.bitmit.net/en/info/faq
You can also use http://btcrow.com, the fee is smaller: 1%.

Since this thread is a sticky, I decided to post this here. Any moderator or member feel free to move, copy or improve these rules at will.

Dude, wonderful post. I saw "someone" who shall go unnamed say that since they are a "trusted" member that if someone refuses to go first then they are a scammer. If you spend any amount of time on forums where people buy/trade expensive items its almost always the big trusted members that pull of the big scams.

I never ever go first on a trade, unless you're obviously "the man," but if I did it would be in small increments like you suggested. Great post, that should be stickied.

[xtester]

Just got scammed by YeeYay of 0.15 btc.

I have posted proof here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.460

and here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.480

He is still denying it and lying but I have brought all the messages and transaction.

Please help me ban this scammer no other person needs to be left without money.

[YeeYay]

Just got scammed by YeeYay of 0.15 btc.

I have posted proof here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.460

and here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.480

He is still denying it and lying but I have brought all the messages and transaction.

Please help me ban this scammer no other person needs to be left without money.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.msg4870113#msg4870113

[fighter]

Escrow, got it!

[testcoin]

"Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER"

Wow What a Golden Rule!

Thanks for this warm reminder anyway.

[softron]

Nice, really informative thread. Thanks

[Quicker_777]

Excellent warnings from experience. 

[MissX3M]

1. Always use escrow.
2. 2. Always use escrow.
3. 2. Always use escrow.

Just dodge a bullet two times. Tons of seller but when asking escrow they are all gone 

[Lovely]

Thanks for author，we should care for this thing.THANKS

[keoyl]

Thank you for the info and for the warnings. I want to trade some coins so I want to use escrow service as suggested. Please if you can post or send me a PM of some escrow services as currently know about 2 services and one is not online any more.

Thank you very much,
Ivan.

[Trading]

Here is a list of escrow members: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=108716.0
You also have escrow sites: http://btcrow.com (1.55%) or  https://mitm.io (free)

[tbearhere]

And another thing to watch out for is, any exchange can lock your account at anytime they feel!  Richie Lai of Bittex or one of the staff,to the best of my knowledge, locked my account today. With a flip of a switch, so think about it ppl.

[Trading]

If you think you were scammed, just open a thread about the issue on https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0
If you are not shore if that was a scam, open a thread on https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=85.0
But you can always talk first with the exchange and threat to post about the issue if not solved.

[BIT-Sharon]

1) Don't just trust the status of a member, anyone can be a hero member. This just means that he invested some time on his membership. He can always decide that a profitable scam will be a good payment for his time.
2) If he has no reputation (specially if he is a newbie or Jr.), even small tranches are very risky. Better use an escrow system, like the one of http://www.bitmit.net, www.btcrow.com, or a trusted member, or you might need to send more than 10 very small tranches. Think well before sending more than 0.2 btcs (it's considerable money in some countries) and only after successful payments of 0.1 and 0.15 btcs.


Since this thread is a sticky, I decided to post this here. Any moderator or member feel free to move, copy or improve these rules at will.

What an evil world. I hate the scam. And thank U of your information to a noob like me.

[Dexter44]

Good advice. Sometimes newbies are old wolves! 

[throwingbones1]

Just got scammed by YeeYay of 0.15 btc.

I have posted proof here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.460

and here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=430648.480

He is still denying it and lying but I have brought all the messages and transaction.

Please help me ban this scammer no other person needs to be left without money.

that's such a shame, i feel sorry for you mate, as a bitcointalk.org n00b i look foward to earning my 1st +trust point!

[ngokiemtuan]

 I agree that an escrow is always to be used.thank for imformation

[Bubbsandbubbs3]

Okden

[Gultahin]

Thanks for the info, it's really good to get up those as quick as possible for newcomers here, so all those newbies post about being scammed can be over.. Anyway better safe than sorry

[neochiny]

hi im just a newbie too... how can i have business with other hero member or higher rank if almost all of them are ignoring us NEWBIES. accusing scammer or whatever.. isnt its just discriminating us? 

[Trading]

You will have to trust SOME of the older members with good reputation and go first. They will give you positive trust and eventually you will become a trusted member.

[Nizam ibrahim.P.N]

We should be more aware when dealing with  sellers,products.There are plendy of malpractices on different products in the society !!

[ph.amracyshop]

Thank you very much for sharing this information. Thanks for the concern. This is certainly true and everyone should be more aware.

[pilscoop]

Is there a list of the highest ranking trusted members to trade with?

[Trading]

Check this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=484.0

However, usually, you can check the reputation of the member by clicking the link trust, under his avatar.

[rambhajan99]

so you mean any newbie person make deal with newbies it must be scam?

[uwichii]

Another sign: when you are a reputable member like me, and when you ask the noob to send first and suddenly they stop replying to your PM. Scammer! Maybe I should start a list in the public interest?

Latest possible scammer(s):

- penetration -> confirmed scammer has scammed multiple people



EDIT: I have decided I will keep this list updated and maintained. (and of course remove people who later turn out not to be scammers - but if they are genuinely looking for a trade and have only about 100 posts why would they not send first to someone like me? Hopefully I can help everyone here)

[Trading]

It makes more sense to create a scammers list on a new thread here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0

But, probably, you should wait until you have some more activity.

[Twinks1959]

Thanks for the information

what is escrow

[humptycurrency]

there are some people who are using your name with tomatocage1@hotmail.com and saying this email id is escrow, please tell people what's your actual email to use you as escrow

[Trading]

Thanks for the information

what is escrow

Escrow is using a trustworthy middle man, that will receive the thing for sale and the payment and send them to the other party, in order to avoid scams.

[grim007]

use yobit for trading alt coins. as simple as that

[Farhad shaikh]

This Information is so useful. thank,s for that. But what happened if don,t trust anyone!!! You know? there someone you need to believe?

[YRFCHIPOJNP]

is there any bot database where can i find efficient bot for certain coin?

[Dahhi]

Simran, I agree. People are quite stereotypical around here.
Really pisses me off.
[/quote]



I quite agree with a lot of the things mentioned here. Scammers usually pose as females even when they are not, because they know people tend to see females as being incapable of harming... or something like that.


It's better to be safe than sorry

[ibh98]

Thanks. Good information. But problem is too many fraud traders everywhere. So it is really difficult to find actual traders.

[G_Besar]

Thanks for the information but I think you should explain it well enough for what you want to run in this project?

[NIGHTTURKEY]

Thanks for the information

Who gets the information anyway ?

[u200811008]

  Studying,Thank you very much.

[m_daneshgah]

thanks for  your answer

[RESPECT46]

Alright, so I've been PM'd by a few people what red-flags to look out for since I have a pretty good track record of spotting scammers. Sometimes I get it wrong, but better safe than sorry.  Here's a couple rules to follow to avoid becoming a victim:

1. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's nearly a 100% chance that one of the parties is a scammer. I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.
2. Always use escrow.
3. See rule #2.

thanks for inormation. The information is very helpful

[mel0924]

That good information, before getting into the business we must seek information and background regarding that business and try to know the person you are negotiating in order to avoid scammers. Or else you will cry!

[ether19]

Scammers are learning and improvising every time when the come out with new schemes. You are simply responsible for yourself and take everything with a pinch of salt. There many accounts in bitcointalk that have legendary rank and have been here for more than 1 year, sold to scammers and then scammers use the same to scam innocent people. So just be careful.

[thymeow]

Newbie here and this post is really helpful, i'm not familiar with the trust rating thingy tho?
Does it also indicate that people with high rating on trust are people we need to transact with. Also how do you even get that trust rating, i saw someone with -2, does that mean that he is a scammer?

[Ntbltkt]

Who make me have the bitcoin.

[BTCmax24]

Is there any board here in bitcointalk where we may found the general list of all scammers including their violations and punishment given by our organization? We need it to guide us all..like other government agencies they posted illegal company/recruitment agencies to avoid for doing any transactions? Please make a board for that which is easy to find. Thank you.

[sachinunchwal]

many way to earn btc buying bitcoin and invest in any trasted wabsite is this only way and minning of btc and i have also a factual wabsite

[triasel]

Alright, so I've been PM'd by a few people what red-flags to look out for since I have a pretty good track record of spotting scammers. Sometimes I get it wrong, but better safe than sorry.  Here's a couple rules to follow to avoid becoming a victim:

1. Newbies, NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER NEWBIES, EVER. There are plenty of veteran members to do business with and ALWAYS use escrow. If you're a newbie and you're doing business with another newbie, there's nearly a 100% chance that one of the parties is a scammer. I can not stress this enough.. just work with people who have been here at least a year.
2. Always use escrow.
3. See rule #2.

thanks for your information sir
i will read rule before

[nhieutien21]

Hello
i want to use escrow.
who can i meet ?

whatsapp: +447565760703
ICQ  643505558

[cryptogeek101]

 Your information is good but some newbies are trustworthy

[M Dian syahputra]

There may be some newbie who became a scammer but I do not
This information really helps me to be more alert as a newbie thanks a lot

[sherwinaze]

thank you for the information you gave..
now i know how to be safe my money..

[Topher12]

I Agree What I've Read , Thanks For The Informations About Trading ..

[lirene]

Thanks for the information, it is very important to know the newcomers. Are there any other rules to protect yourself?

[Text]

Thanks for the information, it is very important to know the newcomers. Are there any other rules to protect yourself?

The only way to protect yourself is don't deal to a scammer, which do have a negative/red ratings... Also don't trust easily to the users you don't even really know. Always use well known and trusted escrow if needed. If you want to do it in a company or website better to ask here first.

[riwa18]

thanks for this information really helps me to be more alert

[Crypt0m0ney]

More and more people is coming in this new world,
or is making a step foward to future....

this post should be a must for all new people that's coming in,
it's teachs also how really should be done the things

thanks for creating it

[luckycoinn]

Very nice tips, but I am a newbie here, how to use escrow ? Choose an escrow services and make deal with escrow and seller ? I've been seen some signature campaign and saw a code, this code describe escrow message and address with a code like md5 code (dont know that) what is that code for ?

[MostHigh]

What will happen if I decide to trade with a credible person without involving escrow.

[lateralus55]

Thank you for the tips! Would appreciate more info on the escrow

[autoria]

What is the best way to ensure we are interacting with a trustworthy member? Many users are offering to help us with services but we are not sure who is a reliable member.

[batang_bitcoin]

What will happen if I decide to trade with a credible person without involving escrow.

If that person is credible and trusted, you can have successful deal with him but still it's always been advisable to deal with escrow.

What is the best way to ensure we are interacting with a trustworthy member? Many users are offering to help us with services but we are not sure who is a reliable member.

Good questions, there's a list of trusted escrow ( https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=855778.0)  and you are the one to choose of whom you want to ask. You can also see the trust rating of that guy and that will tell his worth as an escrow.

[lepbagong]

1) Don't just trust the status of a member, anyone can be a hero member. This just means that he invested some time on his membership. He can always decide that a profitable scam will be a good payment for his time. However, a Hero account without negative feedback can be sold for more than 0.5 btcs. Therefore, he probably won't scam you for less than that, because a negative feedback from you would lower its value substantially.
2) Never deal with anyone without doing a search in the forum with his nickname, in order to check if he has scam accusations.
3) Ask for his coin address and always search it on http://blockchain.info, www.cryptocoinexplorer.com or other similar site, to verify if his address has the amounts he wants to sell.
4) Be very suspicious about proposals well under market price or if he accepts your proposal under market price with no negotiation.
5) Look for the reputation/trust of the member, checking also his successful trades, in the form of vouches from the other party on the deal. Be aware that positive trust can be forged by making and using more bitcointalk accounts and the trust system can be more or less avoided by changing its settings.
6) Even if he has some reputation, never send all the money in one transfer: send one first small tranche (ex. 0.05 btc) and wait for his payment. Send a second little higher tranche and wait again, etc. Small increments, because he might decide to pay you the first and second, to scam a bigger tranche. Always suspect if he doesn't accept to trade in small tranches, unless he has an excellent reputation.
7) If he has no reputation (specially if he is a newbie or Jr.), even small tranches are very risky. Better use an escrow system, like the one of www.btcrow.com, or a trusted member, or you might need to send more than 10 very small tranches. Think well before sending more than 0.15 btcs (it's considerable money in some countries) and only after 3 or 4 successful payments of 0.05 and 0.1 btcs.
8] For big amounts use an escrow system, unless the member has an excellent reputation. If he doesn't accept, forget the deal. Always protect your capital.
9) Only trade codes (ex. of virtual gift cards) with members with a very good reputation or using a very trusted escrow member that will have to go to the account and apply the code himself. The buyer will have to give the escrow person his password and change it again after. With an automatic escrow system, the buyer can claim falsely that the code was already redeemed when he received it or that his account was blocked after.
10) Don't sell any cryptocoin to paypal or other reversible system, unless the buyer has good reputation. The buyer can chargeback and, since it's against paypal's TOS to trade currency, paypal usually gives your money back to the buyer.


Here is a list of escrow members: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=108716.0

Thank you very much for the enlightenment that has been given, hopefully after reading this many who are not complacent with the persuasion that lead to bankruptcy itself

[Trnsmssn]

Not all the newbie are scams, but even though I am a newbid I have to agree that you have to be cautious with newbids, thay have nothing to lose. But on the other hand thieves can build up their status and than jack you for your money.

[Leickens]

 ;DeWallets are good if you are on the go or dealing with pocket change. If you want to control your own security and be independant, you will need a Client. A Client is an application that manages your Wallet independently from third party software on your computer. With it, you become your own bank.
There are many Clients out there. The one developed by the core team is the Standard Client, also known as Bitcoin-QT. You can download it. After you start it, it will synchronise itself with the Bitcoin Network. It might be a long process and take up a couple gigabytes of your hard drive space, but this is the way to ensure nobody is trying to cheat.
Once that is done, the Client will control your Wallet file. Be sure to protect it with a password and back it up regularly. It is stored in a file called "wallet.dat" in your Bitcoin data directory. If you lose it or it gets stolen, you lose your money.

[leirou]

Thanks for the information on how to prevent being scammed. And guess some status will be a good indicator for this.

[XOOMBOX]

Thank you for giving us tips and information. Be cautious everyone.

[ImGenius]

1) Don't just trust the status of a member, anyone can be a hero member. This just means that he invested some time on his membership. He can always decide that a profitable scam will be a good payment for his time. However, a Hero account without negative feedback can be sold for more than 0.5 btcs. Therefore, he probably won't scam you for less than that, because a negative feedback from you would lower its value substantially.
2) Never deal with anyone without doing a search in the forum with his nickname, in order to check if he has scam accusations.
3) Ask for his coin address and always search it on http://blockchain.info, www.cryptocoinexplorer.com or other similar site, to verify if his address has the amounts he wants to sell.
4) Be very suspicious about proposals well under market price or if he accepts your proposal under market price with no negotiation.
5) Look for the reputation/trust of the member, checking also his successful trades, in the form of vouches from the other party on the deal. Be aware that positive trust can be forged by making and using more bitcointalk accounts and the trust system can be more or less avoided by changing its settings.
6) Even if he has some reputation, never send all the money in one transfer: send one first small tranche (ex. 0.05 btc) and wait for his payment. Send a second little higher tranche and wait again, etc. Small increments, because he might decide to pay you the first and second, to scam a bigger tranche. Always suspect if he doesn't accept to trade in small tranches, unless he has an excellent reputation.
7) If he has no reputation (specially if he is a newbie or Jr.), even small tranches are very risky. Better use an escrow system, like the one of www.btcrow.com, or a trusted member, or you might need to send more than 10 very small tranches. Think well before sending more than 0.15 btcs (it's considerable money in some countries) and only after 3 or 4 successful payments of 0.05 and 0.1 btcs.
8] For big amounts use an escrow system, unless the member has an excellent reputation. If he doesn't accept, forget the deal. Always protect your capital.
9) Only trade codes (ex. of virtual gift cards) with members with a very good reputation or using a very trusted escrow member that will have to go to the account and apply the code himself. The buyer will have to give the escrow person his password and change it again after. With an automatic escrow system, the buyer can claim falsely that the code was already redeemed when he received it or that his account was blocked after.
10) Don't sell any cryptocoin to paypal or other reversible system, unless the buyer has good reputation. The buyer can chargeback and, since it's against paypal's TOS to trade currency, paypal usually gives your money back to the buyer.


Here is a list of escrow members: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=108716.0

Thank you very much for the enlightenment that has been given, hopefully after reading this many who are not complacent with the persuasion that lead to bankruptcy itself

Well said sir. Thank you for giving this kind of info sor. Well appreciated.

Not all the newbie are scams, but even though I am a newbid I have to agree that you have to be cautious with newbids, thay have nothing to lose. But on the other hand thieves can build up their status and than jack you for your money.

What will happen after that sir? atleast now I have an idea. Thank you for that sir.

[chillcott]

thanks for this information. it help a lot of people.

[Guerrix]

Thx for this VALUABLE information.

[shishir khan]

Thank you for awarning

[Abiel]

Thank you very much for the enlightenment that has been given, hopefully after reading this many who are not complacent with the persuasion that lead to bankruptcy itself

[ICO_Estate_Coin]

Very useful and necessary information. Thank you.

[watemp]

Valuable information, especially for the beginner.

[kr-sama2]

Can I ask whats the meaning of "escrow"? Thank you

[baundul]

Every new member are not scammer.  Am also new but i work here past year

[cryptonoobie]

thank you for all the info,its very enlightening to say the least.ive been very scepticle about these kinds of trades.if you value your money just do a little research.the info is out there for all to educate themselves,you just have to put the time in.

[Shajid Hossain Biplob]

Its very useful information so be aware about of this.

[summonerrk]

And NEBER do not open links from letter at your email box. Example link with MyEtherWallet.

[Shajid Hossain Biplob]

Good information.

Thanks for useful information.
Good luck for us!