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.

[1715459038]

1715459038

[1715459038]

1715459038

[1715459038]

1715459038

[1715459038]

1715459038

[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.

[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.