Be very careful when dealing with LocalBitcoins.com. I wrote a small guide and steps on how to maximize protection for yourself, and what to avoid when selling Bitcoin on LBC. Take a look at it here:
There is definitely a new wave of scammers and hackers on
www.LocalBitcoins.com, and while I'm savvy when it comes to selling my Bitcoin, I am reluctantly (and shamefully) posting this to help others protect themselves from what I've gone through.
The last three transactions that I've conducted on LBC for digital trades (PayPal) have all had their payments reversed. The hackers/scammers are getting extremely creative, and starting to mimic the actions and character of authentic great traders...
With that said, if you don't feel like reading the rest of this post, take this away from it:
TAKE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN SELLING YOUR BITCOIN FOR PAYPAL. In fact, consider not selling your Bitcoin for PayPal at all.So with that, here is a quote of some advice I gave to another user; I thought it could help protect you. Yes, most of it is just common sense, but reminders could prove to be helpful. Don't let that trade request for someone buying bitcoin at 20% above market price cloud your judgment!
If you have any more questions outside of what I've posted below, feel free to post here or send me a private message.
I've had successful transfers, and I've had fraudulent transfers where the payments were reversed on my payment processing accounts.
Be extremely cautious when dealing with Bitcoin buyers via PayPal. I used to think that the payment was safe if sending as "Friends or Family" via PayPal, but I had a payment that was reversed because the PayPal account that was used to send me the funds for the Bitcoin I sold ended up being hacked. I actually had a conversation with the owner of the account (the hacker didn't have access to his mark's email address), and the dude got screwed for tens of thousands of dollars because of the PayPal hack.
LocalBitcoins.com is best for face-to-face meetups. Be
EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS when dealing with digital transfers or bank wires. Make sure to ask for documentation for EVERYTHING, and look out for the following things (as a seller):
- 1. If the buyer is a new account, insist that they send you documentation to prove their identity and that they are who they say they are.
- 2. If the buyer's account is verified, look through their feedback history to ensure that there are not any large gaps in between trades. If there are gaps, this could indicate that the buyer's account was purchased from the original owner (who may not have a need for their account any longer)
- 3. Check their feedback history and sort it by "Negative" feedback. If any of the recent negative feedback pertains to a digital payment of any kind, avoid the trade at all costs, no matter how much above market price they are offering.
- 4. Ask the buyer to provide you with their PayPal address, and that you will send them an invoice to that address for the amount that you've entered the trade for.
- 5. Instruct the buyer to answer an email that you send to that address, or to send you an email from the email address of their PayPal account.
- 6. Google the email address and see what pops up. If anything looks fishy, then avoid the trade. (example: the last time I initiated a trade with someone on LBC, the email address showed results for a 79-year old farmer from Georgia. Chances are that 79-year old farmers don't know anything about cryptocurrency...
I know that this sounds tedious, but trust me; it will help protect you in the end. Even if your trade is only for $100 or less, it would suck to be charged back or have a payment reversed for that $100... Protect yourself when dealing with digital payment options on LocalBitcoins.com
Additional tips from other members:
NEVER RELEASE BITCOINS FROM THE ESCROW BEFORE YOU RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT.
Some traders will have what looks like a solid reputation: thousand over trades, huge volumes and great feedback. And they use that to try and bully you into releasing escrow right after they mark payment as complete. Do not ever do this. They might say "lol I trade for 5 years and people have no problems to do this" or try and make it seem they don't need your business but don't ever release escrow until you confirm payment. I have run into a few such people, and at least once I've come back across the same name, accused of never sending payment.
Feel free to view the thread in its entirety to get some additional feedback from other members.
