Can I be scammed?

[solitude]

There's a new user to bitcointalk who wants to buy some digital goods off me.  

I'm leery of new users to forums.  He says he's willing to "go first"

Just to confirm, once I see the bitcoins in my wallet it's safe for me to send him the goods right?

Should I wait for something?  Isn't there like a pending transaction thing?

[ISAWHIM]

You should wait for the full confirmation...

Any less, and it could be manipulated. (Fake transaction in a block that the network will throw-out. Because it will never confirm, or it is a double-spend. The first one with the full confirms, is the one that stays.)

For added security, like a bank does... (Since, in all essence you are a bank.) You would wait for 2x the confirmations. To ensure it is 100% there, not in a mini-fork that is also being manipulated.

[JohnBigheart]

Oh, I thought it was like "Can I be scammed?".
I was like, sure! If you want to be scammed, just send all your earnings to: 17cETm8zDugFKuNQMprW6GgAFEpmrcPUA.
I will scam you if that's what you are into 

There are all kinds of people, so maybe there are some who are into scam fetish? That would be a very highly specialized niche, but I am willing to fill that market gap, if someone is interested!

[Hexah]

Oh, I thought it was like "Can I be scammed?".
I was like, sure! If you want to be scammed, just send all your earnings to: 17cETm8zDugFKuNQMprW6GgAFEpmrcPUA.
I will scam you if that's what you are into 

There are all kinds of people, so maybe there are some who are into scam fetish? That would be a very highly specialized niche, but I am willing to fill that market gap, if someone is interested!

Same here lol.
I hoped for ez money
On topic: wait for 6 confirmations and send him the goods

[Predatorian]

Oh, I thought it was like "Can I be scammed?".
I was like, sure! If you want to be scammed, just send all your earnings to: 17cETm8zDugFKuNQMprW6GgAFEpmrcPUA.
I will scam you if that's what you are into 

There are all kinds of people, so maybe there are some who are into scam fetish? That would be a very highly specialized niche, but I am willing to fill that market gap, if someone is interested!

Same here lol.
I hoped for ez money
On topic: wait for 6 confirmations and send him the goods

This. Ppl using different tricks to scam others, also try to avoid paypal cuz it's easy to recall payment.

[JohnBigheart]

Generally, if you are on the receiving side of the Bitcoins and the Bitcoins are there with 6+ confirmations you are unlikely to be scammed.
Most scams are technically unsophisticated and work on the reverse:
Send me your bitcoins first, and then you will:
- receive goods
- receive services
- receive interest
which of course will never happen.

Beware of lending and "investments", and only do Paypal with trusted counterparties. Generally if a deal looks to good, its probably scam. Don't be shy to ask why it's worth for the other guy. If he can't tell you a plausible story how he is making a profit on the deal or why its worth for him to do it, just walk away.

[solitude]

On topic: wait for 6 confirmations and send him the goods
[/quote]

Where do I see the confirmations?

edit:  I guess I just go to blockchain and search for my bitcoin address?>

[ionux]

You should be able to see the confirmations in your wallet software but you can also view them in one of the various blockchain explorers.

[MonkeyBear68]

On average it takes a little under an hour for 6 confirmations. You can view the new blocks (yellow circles) as they are discovered and also the transactions (blue circles) on Bitcoin Monitor:

http://www.bitcoinmonitor.com/

Every time a block is discovered you should see your confirmation number increase by one. Make sure to still check that you indeed have six confirmations on YOUR transaction before completing the deal.

[BitOnyx]

On average it takes a little under an hour for 6 confirmations. You can view the new blocks (yellow circles) as they are discovered and also the transactions (blue circles) on Bitcoin Monitor:

http://www.bitcoinmonitor.com/

Every time a block is discovered you should see your confirmation number increase by one. Make sure to still check that you indeed have six confirmations on YOUR transaction before completing the deal.

I'm totally supporting this response. Also you can check his reputation.

[CryptoKilla]

Did everything work out?

[luv2drnkbr]

If you wait for a few confirmations you'll be fine.

The worst that could happen is you unwittingly participate in a scam on somebody else.  Scammer contacts you to buy your product.  Scammer contacts another guy to sell some product of similar value.  Scammer convinces him to send first-- to YOUR bitcoin address.  Scammer tells you he's paid you, you send him your product.  As far as you're concerned, everything is fine.  But unknown to you, some other guy just sent you bitcoins and is going to get nothing in return, and the scammer is going to get your product for free.  You could ensure this doesn't happen by asking the scammer to sign a message with the address he used to pay you.

This happens on IRC all the time when scammers buy cryptocurrencies.  They get a third party to paypal you, you send them the coins, they disappear, the third party then files a dispute with paypal, you're out the coins, the third party has a bunch of hassle, and both you and the third party think you're mad at each other, not even realizing that you were both communicating not with each other but with the scammer.  So neither of you even knows there was a scammer involved, you both just think it's the other guy who ripped you off.  But the truth is the scammer facilitated everything, telling you he's the third guy and telling the third guy he's you.

All of this being said-- it's 99% likely OP that the guy is on the up and up.  Most scammers don't send crypto, and don't offer to go first.  If it's less than a few hundred dollars worth, I would just believe him... as long as he does indeed send first.  This stuff I'm talking about is just possibilities to be aware of-- I don't think it's actually happening in your case OP.

[rohan1]

just be careful since u r new,maybe u r target to be scammed.

[E.exchanger]

confirmations is all you look for after getting the BTC !!!

[CrashX]

I will just wait until you get afew confirmations.

I usually wait to get 3 of them, which takes 10-30mins, to clear.

[AngelSky]

"There is nothing special about the default, often-cited figure of 6 confirmations. It was chosen based on the assumption that an attacker is unlikely to amass more than 10% of the hashrate, and that a negligible risk of less than 0.1% is acceptable. Both these figures are arbitrary, however; 6 confirmations are overkill for casual attackers, and at the same time powerless against more dedicated attackers with much more than 10% hashrate."

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Confirmation

[DarkComet]

After 3 confirmations you can send him the goods

[JohnBigheart]

If you wait for a few confirmations you'll be fine.

The worst that could happen is you unwittingly participate in a scam on somebody else.  Scammer contacts you to buy your product.  Scammer contacts another guy to sell some product of similar value.  Scammer convinces him to send first-- to YOUR bitcoin address.  Scammer tells you he's paid you, you send him your product.  As far as you're concerned, everything is fine.  But unknown to you, some other guy just sent you bitcoins and is going to get nothing in return, and the scammer is going to get your product for free.  You could ensure this doesn't happen by asking the scammer to sign a message with the address he used to pay you.

This happens on IRC all the time when scammers buy cryptocurrencies.  They get a third party to paypal you, you send them the coins, they disappear, the third party then files a dispute with paypal, you're out the coins, the third party has a bunch of hassle, and both you and the third party think you're mad at each other, not even realizing that you were both communicating not with each other but with the scammer.  So neither of you even knows there was a scammer involved, you both just think it's the other guy who ripped you off.  But the truth is the scammer facilitated everything, telling you he's the third guy and telling the third guy he's you.

All of this being said-- it's 99% likely OP that the guy is on the up and up.  Most scammers don't send crypto, and don't offer to go first.  If it's less than a few hundred dollars worth, I would just believe him... as long as he does indeed send first.  This stuff I'm talking about is just possibilities to be aware of-- I don't think it's actually happening in your case OP.

That's good to know, I was not aware of this setup.

Still, you delivered your goods and got your money. So technically, you are not the sucker in this scheme. Except that the participant can guilt you into sharing the loss, or can raise a case against your forum userId to be marked as a scammer. Still, with proof of shipment you can defend yourself against scammer accusations on the board. There is a temptation to share the loss of the innocent party, but you are not obliged to as you did nothing wrong.

I am still unclear why a scammer would make this elaborate scheme. It sounds complicated enough since you have to scam 2 people at the same time. Why not just rip off the buyer? What's the upside of complicating it?

[bitco.in]

If he's willing to go first, and you get an X number of confirmation, you're good to go. 

Also listen to the cues in his communications, if the deal is too good to be true etc.  Sometimes you can tell a scammer in advance of the deal.