For those of you that like trading bitcoin physically, learn the usual lesson

[_act_]

This is not about bitcoin but USDT but it is a lesson for those people that like to trade their coins physically. Such people do not like themselves at all. It can lead to attack.

The guy met the USDT seller on Telegram. What!!! Telegram that is full of scammers. He said he had no choice because the guy was the only one that reached out to him. The plan was to meet at a public mall but the USDT seller changed the location and he accepted. The new location is a car park where he was attacked.

Mothership reports that the teenager, known only as ‘ZK,’ was attacked by the men after meeting the crypto seller in a car park on August 29.

As the deal was going down, ZK claimed that the men, looking like “regular pedestrians,” passed by before one of them punched him across his left cheek.

Afraid that the men were trying to steal his cash, ZK says he bolted to the nearest mall and shouted for help. They allegedly chased after him, but ZK says he managed to outrun them and report the incident to police.

Offline USDT sale abandoned after buyer gets punched in face

[Hatchy]

I usually don't advise any physical trading as it's very risky. A lot of people have lost their lives, meeting with unknown individuals for the sake of trading. Not just in crypto but other business purposes. If you wish to trade, do it on reputable platforms or exchanges where you have encrosws. Their service are very easy to use and I see no reason to meet up with a buyer or seller off line. As a Bitcoiner or crypto holder, you become a potential target for criminals... Let's try our best to avoid physical meets up.

[Zaguru12]

This is not about bitcoin but USDT but it is a lesson for those people that like to trade their coins physically. Such people do not like themselves at all. It can lead to attack.

The guy met the USDT seller on Telegram. What!!! Telegram that is full of scammers. He said he had no choice because the guy was the only one that reached out to him. The plan was to meet at a public mall but the USDT seller changed the location and he accepted. The new location is a car park where he was attacked.

This is a very dangerous thing to do most especially if you’re in a country where bitcoin or cryptocurrency is banned or restricted. I don’t know the condition that made the ZK guy to actually decide to do a physical P2P it might be that the country doesn’t support cryptocurrency which made it a bad choice. In as much as we frown at submitting KYC to centralized exchanges I think this is even worse than that.

This is same to people who exchange fiat currency physically, the risk is just too much, most of the time it leads to  theft attack at the home of the person or even kidnapping of either the trader or their family. The location change was Also another red flag

[Orpichukwu]

Why some people are trying so hard to protect their crypto activity from the government, they by themselves make the wrong move of even putting their lives at a greater risk, which could not only lead to them losing their asset but they could also get injured in the process.
 
The world is exposed right now, although some people are too lazy to run some research on their own and discover that there are many ways for them to trade P2P without even risking their lives.
 
I'm glad he was able to make it out to a safe location and have not also lost his bitcoin. At least one lesson should have been learnt: he can't just trust whomever they meet on the internet.

[Churchillvv]

This is not about bitcoin but USDT but it is a lesson for those people that like to trade their coins physically. Such people do not like themselves at all. It can lead to attack.

The guy met the USDT seller on Telegram. What!!! Telegram that is full of scammers. He said he had no choice because the guy was the only one that reached out to him. The plan was to meet at a public mall but the USDT seller changed the location and he accepted. The new location is a car park where he was attacked.

In as much as we frown at submitting KYC to centralized exchanges I think this is even worse than that.

This is the exact thought I have, instead of risking my life entirely why not just give up your details to CEXs? although I'm saying this in my own position right now. I don't really how, where and what was the position of the victim that lead to trying to make a P2P transaction with a total stranger physically, it could be either legal issues or something else but if only there is no such thing then they is no need to risk once life trying to make transaction.

Generally physical trading is not advisable because it exposed you to a lot of risk that could be detrimental like having people tracing you down to your house which could end up being a huge robbery and even more.

[Ndabagi01]

Going for a physical trading without knowing the person you’re going to meet is very risky, why not have a middle man in trading like this, it will be much better and less risky to undertake. This thieves can go to any length to get what they want, they don’t mind killing the culprit, safety over everything should be your top priority in the crypto space. Having a middle man is the best just like how exchanges on p2p services on their serves as for us. 

We have come a long way to still be going for physical trading in this era of technology, the risk is too much and you shouldn’t resort to that as your last option when you want to trade. Your health is important and you should always be on the look out for possible scammers around you both physical and online, it’ll help mitigate loss in the crypto space.

[AVE5]

A misquote about those preferred of physical trading of their bitcoins is an impulsion of them comparing the visibilities and feasibilities of people going in and coming out from the commercial banks without a threat of risks even when thefts are been aware that whoever involved within the premises of the banks is definitely there for financial transactions and yet they keep safe and unhurt by thefts so, they get it twisted that why should they fear or be so concious while dealing on physical trading of their coins.
Such persons eventually fails to get a reality fact about making themselves obvious with their bitcoin assets in the public is a sense that they're unable to understand that bitcoin is a digital gold which is very much attracted by individuals and thefts who knows Its worths and potentials.

[Potato Chips]

Sadly, OOP did not follow the typical precautionary measures.

IMO, I would avoid trading such big amounts face to face esp with a person I don't know. There were other red flags as well such as finding a buyer on telegram and buyer changing the location to parking lot last minute lol I could smell assault from a mile. Then again, OOP is pretty young -- 19 years old.

[GreatArkansas]

The way that the venue changed from a public place to a suspicious place is already a red flag.
For the buyer that holds cash is already risky, If you have physical cash with you walking in a public place is already risky, you could use some mobile banking to transfer the funds once the deal is done.

I'm glad that the culprits are arrested, good work for the police authority.
Now this is the lesson for some people who aim to pay less but putting their money and life at risk.

[Sandra_hakeem]

What the heck?? Accepting to meet a vendor physically? Someone you met on telegram? How do people even reason out some times?

Look, I wouldn't dare to bypass the means of running P2P on centralized or decentralized platforms if need arises... There's no wisdom in breaking the anonymity only because you're trading on a huge worth of BTC., The moment you expose yourself, you become vulnerable to any attacks!!

The way that the venue changed from a public place to a suspicious place is already a red flag.

This makes me recall a line from the APOCALYPSE movie of "red indians" when one soldier was bitten by a snake through the "guerilla run" and someone said -- "The omen is bad"
In this case, it'd be clear to anyone what they're up to.

[Zoomic]

I usually don't advise any physical trading as it's very risky. A lot of people have lost their lives, meeting with unknown individuals for the sake of trading. Not just in crypto but other business purposes. If you wish to trade, do it on reputable platforms or exchanges where you have encrosws. Their service are very easy to use and I see no reason to meet up with a buyer or seller off line. As a Bitcoiner or crypto holder, you become a potential target for criminals... Let's try our best to avoid physical meets up.

Sometimes having a trusted escrow is difficult and you will just try some risks instead of doing nothing. If you read the Op very well, you will understand that the victim made some efforts to selling online but had no options. The only option available to him was the criminal and as such he decided to take the risk.

Sometimes you will need quick fiat but don't know how to go about it, especially countries where cryptocurrency is not legal. Not because we are together in this group and are exposed to information means everyone else is also exposed to information. Buying and selling of crypto is still an issue to some people.

[BlackBoss_]

Sometimes having a trusted escrow is difficult and you will just try some risks instead of doing nothing. If you read the Op very well, you will understand that the victim made some efforts to selling online but had no options. The only option available to him was the criminal and as such he decided to take the risk.

I can have a trade with criminal if I don't know about my trade partner, but if I know he is a criminal, I will not put myself into risk by trading with a criminal.

Honestly, there are many ways, many platforms to trade Bitcoin to altcoins or to cash. I actually see no need to find criminals and trade with them and people usually are scammed or have trades with criminals because they look for "too good to be true" offers. It means they want too much profit and ignore all "normal" offers, then trade with "too good to be true" offers that often belong to criminals.

[Amphenomenon]

I usually don't advise any physical trading as it's very risky. A lot of people have lost their lives, meeting with unknown individuals for the sake of trading. Not just in crypto but other business purposes. If you wish to trade, do it on reputable platforms or exchanges where you have encrosws. Their service are very easy to use and I see no reason to meet up with a buyer or seller off line. As a Bitcoiner or crypto holder, you become a potential target for criminals... Let's try our best to avoid physical meets up.

Sometimes having a trusted escrow is difficult and you will just try some risks instead of doing nothing. If you read the Op very well, you will understand that the victim made some efforts to selling online but had no options. The only option available to him was the criminal and as such he decided to take the risk.

The ironic thing is that you're the one who failed to understand the Op statement.

The guy met the USDT seller on Telegram. What!!! Telegram that is full of scammers. He said he had no choice because the guy was the only one that reached out to him. The plan was to meet at a public mall but the USDT seller changed the location and he accepted. The new location is a car park where he was attacked.

You can see that the Op stated that the teen literally used the den of scammers (Telegram) to find a seller and then the scammer reached out to him and he literally thought it was legit like how, who still have financial dealings on Telegram
with unknown users.

Also the teen ZK had other options like buying from online exchanges but he only opt for this just to avoid trading fees, which almost cost him his money with the obvious bruises he received from these scammers which could also had cost him his life.

Sometimes you will need quick fiat but don't know how to go about it, especially countries where cryptocurrency is not legal. Not because we are together in this group and are exposed to information means everyone else is also exposed to information. Buying and selling of crypto is still an issue to some people.

Except I know the person as a friend, knowing his/her house and some relatives then still ought not for this, from the fact that these guys might just act legit for small amounts or for time just to gain trust and then hit with their malicious intentions later on.

Those who are unfortunate to be in countries or regions where cryptocurrencies are totally banned, I guessed the best option would have been them using DEX like bisq to get this through VPN, if this would be feasible for them or maybe find forums like this and get a trusted online escrow for the job

[Hewlet]

Be it trading of crypto with a physical vendor like this case or negotiating a deal with someone online and then scheduling to meet the in person for the execution of the deal, thier are basic safety tips oke should never look down on if such a deal is to pull through. The first and most important part of the deal is that it's best you give a location the person is to come that you know you're at a better advantage should it be that the person has an bad intention. The disadvantage is that he will still suspect that you're about reaping him which will automatically bridge trust in the process of carrying out the transaction. In all forms of honesty, it's very deficult to pull out a successful de of this sort without getting attacked or even getting scammed. With alot of P2P channels that's available for one to carry out her transactions through, it's the highest form risk one should think of going into doing physical trading of your coin or USDT.

[Salahmu]

Op thanks for sharing this information so that people will learn about the risk or danger they could possibly brought upon themselves all because of trading there funds, I have also seen a similar situation from a friend who had some usdt on his wallet, so he joined a group on telegram that claims to normally buys usdt, so they showed him a higher rate at which they normally buys, so the moment the guy saw how big the rate is he did not hesitate to send the usdt and after releasing the usdt, immediately he send them transaction hash they deleted the telegram group and that was how he lost all his usdt because of greed.

Though the most risky one is the guy that went physical to initiate the transaction because he should even be very grateful to have made it out alive because there are people who engage on similar method of transaction and never return, actually I really blame that guy because even if he was that desperate to sell he should have considered his safety first by doing the transaction in a public place were there are somany people because it will be difficult to be attacked on the public were everybody is watching. However I believe this information should serve as a kind of lesson to those who desire to engage on such transaction in the future.

[hugeblack]

This seems very dangerous, losing money is not a problem, but getting injured or suffering chronic damage is, so you should be careful when you want to conduct P2P transactions, it is preferable to be in a place with cameras and to be in an open area so that you can determine who is following you. I live in a country that is considered safe, but during my experience traveling to many countries, I found that sometimes it is risky to pass through the streets without being prepared for a fight.

[Oshosondy]

IMO, I would avoid trading such big amounts face to face esp with a person I don't know. There were other red flags as well such as finding a buyer on telegram and buyer changing the location to parking lot last minute lol I could smell assault from a mile. Then again, OOP is pretty young -- 19 years old.

I do not know what the excuse of the seller would be to have changed the meetup place from the public mall to a car park that the buyer would accept just like that. He is 19 years old but I think someone that is that rich should have the wisdom to have seen something not appropriate about the deal. Any change of plan by someone that you do not know should trigger a red flag.

[Zlantann]

This is not about bitcoin but USDT but it is a lesson for those people that like to trade their coins physically. Such people do not like themselves at all. It can lead to attack.

It is very dangerous to trade with a stranger you just met on social media. Telegram has proved to be the number one scam social media platform. Even if I want to engage in physical trading, it will be in a public place, maybe a bank, supermarket or popular restaurant. Depending on the amount I won't mind involving a third party. It will be difficult to be robbed in these public places since people are already present. Trading should also be done during the day and not late at night. Changing the location is a red flag that should have been considered by any trader. Physical P2P can easily expose the identity of traders, thereby exposing them to risk. This is why I would also prefer to exchange my coins in a reputable decentralized exchange. 

[Cricktor]

I wouldn't dare to trade even in busy public, eye-to-eye with a stranger. It's simply too dangerous. Even when the trade goes smoothly, no issues, no violence. You don't know if your trading partner has someone else then following you. So many things can go wrong and I don't think it's worth the risks involved.

If you ever do such a trade:

• always in public places with enough other people, preferably with surveillance cameras
• change your appearance, wear glasses if you don't have them normally, put on a fake beard or a wig or whatever changes your look drastically
• negotiate safe rules; if your trading partner asks for deviation, cancel the trade, it's a red flag
• allow enough time for at least two or more confirmations of the trade's coin transaction; mandatory to negotiate
• have a strong friend who watches you from a safe distance without being discovered and who can intervene if trade situation goes out of control; it's totally possible that your trading partner does the same, he even can outnumber you -- this uncertainty alone is enough reason for me to not endanger me, my strong friend(s), regardless of a public situation -- other people aren't necessarily heroes

There are many more safer ways to trade, avoid eye-to-eye trades with strangers!

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

This is not about bitcoin but USDT but it is a lesson for those people that like to trade their coins physically. Such people do not like themselves at all. It can lead to attack.

The guy met the USDT seller on Telegram. What!!! Telegram that is full of scammers. He said he had no choice because the guy was the only one that reached out to him. The plan was to meet at a public mall but the USDT seller changed the location and he accepted. The new location is a car park where he was attacked.

Mothership reports that the teenager, known only as ‘ZK,’ was attacked by the men after meeting the crypto seller in a car park on August 29.

As the deal was going down, ZK claimed that the men, looking like “regular pedestrians,” passed by before one of them punched him across his left cheek.

Afraid that the men were trying to steal his cash, ZK says he bolted to the nearest mall and shouted for help. They allegedly chased after him, but ZK says he managed to outrun them and report the incident to police.

Offline USDT sale abandoned after buyer gets punched in face

With the way of how thing have developed to this extent, someone is being lured by a scammer to physical p2p and got attacked, i will blame the seller, because before you can engaged on a p2p with someone by any physical means, make sure you you make use of an accredited escrow service provider, except if the buyer is someone you are used to already, but for meeting with someone for the first time on a social media and agreeing to sell to that person on a particular location is nothing than taking a personal risk.