Localbitcoins.com -- unusual request to sell -- Paranoid or Legit?

[mccminer]

I've been signed up on localbitcoins for a couple of months now, and I've had a few requests for small transactions.  Both of the sell transactions that I've had went smooth and the people were cool & legit.  But today, I got a request that set off all kinds of alarms in my head, and I just want to see what the community thought.

I received a request from a brand new member on localbitcoins.com asking to purchase $3,200 USD worth of BTC from me at 10% over the Mt. Gox price.  He said that he's wanting to invest a total of $6,400, if I could fill the order.  I asked if he was new to bitcoin, and he replied that he had "invested in some a few months ago and had some success from it", but due to "new regulations in the past few months" he doesn't want to go through an exchange. I told him that I wouldn't sell more than 2.00 BTC to a new localbitcoins user with 0 transactions, and his response was that it wasn't worth his time to drive to meet me for 2.00 BTC.  He needed more than that.

In my paranoid/tin-foil mind, I see this as one of four different scenarios:

• Someone looking to launder some drug money or money from stolen goods.
• Someone looking to launder some counterfeit money.
• Someone looking to make a purchase on Silk Road.
• Someone looking to purchase ASIC mining equipment.

I don't think this guy is buying BTC to sell.  I don't think he's "investing" in BTC.  I don't think he's a miner, because he never mentioned anything of the sort.

I backed away from this deal politely, but what do you guys think?

[Behemot]

Really, do you mind what he does with the BTC as long as he drives cash to you (so you know it's no scam)? If you are really paranoid, you can have the cash checked in bank or so (to know it's not falsified and/or stolen).

As for tinfoil, you know it acts as antenna as long as it is not grounded? That means it makes it EASIER to read your mind.

[xetsr]

Does it matter what he does with the BTC? Once you are in a safe public place and have cash in hand it shouldn't matter.

[Abdussamad]

If you don't feel comfortable about a transaction it is best to back out. It is your money and possibly even your life that is at risk. No one else can tell you what that's worth.

[justusranvier]

If you don't feel comfortable about a transaction it is best to back out. It is your money and possibly even your life that is at risk. No one else can tell you what that's worth.

+1

• Someone looking to launder some drug money or money from stolen goods.
• Someone looking to launder some counterfeit money.
• Someone looking to make a purchase on Silk Road.
• Someone looking to purchase ASIC mining equipment.

You forgot "sting operation" as a possibility.

[realestone]

it isnt illegal to buy or sell btc so what exactly would they sting?  and dude dont be the moral police if the guy has money is willing to meet you where both of you feel safe and the money can be verified whats it any business of yours what hes going to do with it

[justusranvier]

it isnt illegal to buy or sell btc so what exactly would they sting?

It's happened before. There's a thread on the forum somewhere where somebody talks about getting caught in a sting operation.

[mccminer]

Thanks for the responses.

Well, I hold many libertarian beliefs, and I think being labeled the "Morality Police" would be the last thing anyone that personally knows me would do.  If the buyer has already committed a crime in obtaining the USD, or is planning to commit a crime with the BTC, that's on him.  I'm not a snitch or a narc, so I'm not contacting law enforcement to investigate him.  On the flip side, as a responsible family man, I'm not going to be an accessory to criminal activity either, and that's the way I see this case.  I signed up on localbitcoins.com to help others learn about bitcoins, as well as offer them an easy entry into the currency.  I didn't sign up there to launder USD or be an accessory to criminal activity.

[inspiredinvestor]

option c) silk road is my guess.

now how do we find out the outcome......
I am sure at some piont someone will do alittle doco of the journey of a bitcoin..

[cointell]

There's nothing inherently suspicious about the amount.  I see larger trades than $3200 on here all the time.

But... someone wanting to pay 10% over Mt.Gox on a large trade?  If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

[champbronc2]

What are you, the police? The Satoshi Task force? lol

Investors want BTC, but banks hate BTC. They'll mark you as high risk just for buying them. It's a SERIOUS pain in the ass.

[stl4jsp]

Yea, I don't think it matters Just go to the bank with your laptop and when he brings the briefcase full of money just go and deposit the money right there, but the bank people might be sketched out. But it's none of their buisness what you do.

[btcbonanza]

I agree with the poster earlier, once you've got the cash and verified its legit, the btc are his/hers.  but as always, if you dont feel comfortable, just decline the trade.

[cornfeedhobo]

In my paranoid/tin-foil mind, I see this as one of four different scenarios:

• Someone looking to launder some drug money or money from stolen goods.
• Someone looking to launder some counterfeit money.
• Someone looking to make a purchase on Silk Road.
• Someone looking to purchase ASIC mining equipment.

I don't think this guy is buying BTC to sell.  I don't think he's "investing" in BTC.  I don't think he's a miner, because he never mentioned anything of the sort.

I backed away from this deal politely, but what do you guys think?

This is tantamount to me only doing non-cash transactions in a store because I would hate for a customer to use cash and have to give them change that they could use to purchase drugs later that day.

IMHO, it is not your place to say/impose your beliefs about how people use their BTC.

Your *only* concern should be if the cash is real.

[mccminer]

I think what people have to keep in mind here is that I, the original poster, never implied that I attempted to lecture the potential buyer on his use of the coins purchased from me.  My only question to him was if he was new to bitcoins.  I inferred the bullet points that I listed in the original post from comments that the potential buyer volunteered in an email conversation.  It's not my position to ever tell anyone what they can & can't do with their own BTC, but it is absolutely 100% my right to decide what I do with the BTC that have control over.  Therefore, I politely declined the transaction due to my lack of comfort with the potential outcomes stemming from it.

[cornfeedhobo]

No one said you did.

What seems wrong is to deny someone access to an open market because you felt weird about it. You may have been his only easy way in again.

I drove hours for my first real cash purchase and I am sure I was plenty weird about it.
Thankfully I wasn't denied and I am very happy to be apart of this community again.

However, I agree that you are free to do as you like; I just hope you think about what I, and others, have said.

[justusranvier]

What seems wrong is to deny someone access to an open market because you felt weird about it.

He did exactly the right thing.

The reason we get "bad feelings" about situations is the subconscious pattern-matching area of our brain noticed an indication of danger. It could be a false positive, but it's better for people to protect themselves by not going through with any trade they are not comfortable with.

Telling people conduct risky activities (anything involving cash and strangers is inherently risky) in spite of their instincts is bad advice.

[E.Sam]

Couple of weeks ago, we had fraudster(s) in UK targeting BitBargain and LocalBitcoin simultaneously with stolen bank account details, fake IDs, verified phone numbers, etc... If you fall for it, your bank account will be frozen, funds will be returned to the stolen bank account owner, and you will be suspected (criminally) of fraud.
On BitBargain,  I know most sellers would only trade high volumes with buyers who have a long history and good rating on the site, or on OTC. Otherwise it's just not safe.

[cornfeedhobo]

Telling people conduct risky activities (anything involving cash and strangers is inherently risky) in spite of their instincts is bad advice.

You even stated the obvious though, you are already at risk, the question is if your risk is increased substantially by being the seller, and I can not see how that could be the case here.

[mccminer]

I apologize to the moderators for not putting this in the 'Trading Discussion' section to start with.  I honestly didn't know it was here.

Anyways, now that it's in the correct section of the forum, maybe someone else will reply with their thoughts:  Paranoid or Legit?