Talked someone into bitcoin only to bail because his bank saying its a scam

[Maidak]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

[beetcoin]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

[Maidak]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

[commandrix]

Show him the stats. Show him all of the perfectly legitimate retailers who are accepting Bitcoin or have plans to integrate cryptocurrencies. Tell him that "scam," "fraud" and "illegal activity" are all terms that could apply to the shadier dealings involving fiat currencies. Mention Bernie Madoff. Bitcoin is legit; it's human nature that creates all the problems.

[ronskii]

Newegg accepting scam currency? 
US government selling scam currency?

.. and the list goes on!

[DannyHamilton]

I encountered a lot more "scam" accusations 18 months ago.

Now, people are finding it very difficult to say its a "scam" when they see that it is accepted by major well known companies such as:

• Wordpress
• Zynga
• Overstock.com
• TigerDirect.com
• Chicago Sun-Times
• Expedia.com
• Newegg.com
• Lamborghini

There are many scams that can be perpetrated while using bitcoin, just like there are many scams that can be perpetrated while using U.S. dollars (or any other currency), but there aren't many people left that think that bitcoin itself is a scam.

Furthermore (at least in the U.S.), many people's fears were calmed back in November when Mythili Raman of the U.S. Department of Justice told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs "We are attuned to the criminal use," but "there are many legitimate uses. These virtual currencies are not in and of themselves illegal."

Additionally, Edward Lowery of the Secret Service testified to the same Senate Committee that cyber criminals "have not by and large gravitated toward peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies."

Jennifer Calvery, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told the Sentate committee, "Innovation is a very important part of our economy. It's something for us to be proud of."

[cr1776]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

Here are some articles to send to him and he can share with his wife if he wishes.  (Don't share this part of the comment: but only the uninformed or purposefully ignorant think bitcoin is a scam or money laundering). 

Anyway, all these people which is just a small selection of many, most of whom are quite well known can help him and her understand why bitcoin matters:

http://www.pfhub.com/larry-summers-bitcoin-has-potential-to-be-a-very-very-important-development-407/
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterdiamandis/2014/06/23/my-insights-on-bitcoin-going-from-deceptive-to-disruptive/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/05/21/marc-andreessen-in-20-years-well-talk-about-bitcoin-like-we-talk-about-the-internet-today/
http://www.pfhub.com/sir-richard-branson-bitcoin-is-the-pioneer-of-a-global-currency-576/
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101711220
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10881213/The-coming-digital-anarchy.html
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/612ed094-8aaf-11e3-9465-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl
http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/07/technology/innovation/bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto/
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21599054-how-crypto-currency-could-become-internet-money-hidden-flipside
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129553.700-bitcoin-how-its-core-technology-will-change-the-world.html#.UvKfu0JdX0M%C2%A0

[juju]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

Forget about them, someone who works at a bank and won't form their own opinion on how to invest, then blankly repeats the reason is what they read about Bitcoin from news Subject titles over the past years deserves to "miss" investing.

I have had similar experiences and I am inclined to believe many people here have also had similar events happen. I think one of the biggest issues is it takes awhile to self educate as it stands, additionally Bitcoin is so multifaceted that it requires some discipline from a couple fields. For the time being, Bitcoin is just too technical for the average person to pickup quickly/comfortably.

It took me one year to get a Computer Scientist with over 20+ years experience to consider Bitcoin as a safe investment vehicle. Its not that he couldn't understand the points, but it took me about 1 year of mentioning it to them casually in passing how Bitcoin works and prodding them before they started to grasp the concepts. I have had good luck with getting Software Architects to understand and invest in Bitcoin, every Software Architect I talked to was fascinated and could see the implications of the protocol.

[beetcoin]

I encountered a lot more "scam" accusations 18 months ago.

Now, people are finding it very difficult to say its a "scam" when they see that it is accepted by major well known companies such as:

• Wordpress
• Zynga
• Overstock.com
• TigerDirect.com
• Chicago Sun-Times
• Expedia.com
• Newegg.com
• Lamborghini

There are many scams that can be perpetrated while using bitcoin, just like there are many scams that can be perpetrated while using U.S. dollars (or any other currency), but there aren't many people left that think that bitcoin itself is a scam.

Furthermore (at least in the U.S.), many people's fears were calmed back in November when Mythili Raman of the U.S. Department of Justice told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs "We are attuned to the criminal use," but "there are many legitimate uses. These virtual currencies are not in and of themselves illegal."

Additionally, Edward Lowery of the Secret Service testified to the same Senate Committee that cyber criminals "have not by and large gravitated toward peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies."

Jennifer Calvery, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told the Sentate committee, "Innovation is a very important part of our economy. It's something for us to be proud of."

my uncle said it was a scam, but he doesn't understand what it is. he's an old money guy, kinda like warren buffet. he's middle class though.

[Beans]

I sold some bitcoin rigs and transferred the money to the bank. It took a several days to clear, then I still waited a month or so before going down to make a withdrawal. They refused to give me my money until they could further research it. They wouldn't disclose any specific time frame to release the funds, other then they could hold it a few days or even 6 months. Apparently when I left the bank they froze all my accounts without telling me. They also refused to give me any reason, even after I researched and found they had no legal right to put a hold my account. I spoke to several other bank mangers from other banks who said they didn't have any legal right to freeze accounts without evidence of fraud. I did a little digging and got the number for the regional manager, they unfroze my accounts shorty after. Screw Wells Fargo. They act like your asking for a hand out when you go to get your own damn money.

[beetcoin]

I sold some bitcoin rigs and transferred the money to the bank. It took a several days to clear, then I still waited a month or so before going down to make a withdrawal. They refused to give me my money until they could further research it. They wouldn't disclose any specific time frame to release the funds, other then they could hold it a few days or even 6 months. Apparently when I left the bank they froze all my accounts without telling me. They also refused to give me any reason, even after I researched and found they had no legal right to put a hold my account. I spoke to several other bank mangers from other banks who said they didn't have any legal right to freeze accounts without evidence of fraud. I did a little digging and got the number for the regional manager, they unfroze my accounts shorty after. Screw Wells Fargo. They act like your asking for a hand out when you go to get your own damn money.

wells fargo and bank of america have the worst reputation when it comes to accepting bitcoin related dollars. if that happened to me, i'd tell them what my rights were, and if they fucked with me i'd take it to the media.

[CoinFan10076]

As someone really new to Bitcoin, I think you just have to do your own research. Sometimes it's hard to change people's minds, I first thought it was a scam, but after I took some time to delve into exactly what Bitcoin was, I became convinced it was something to really explore further. In the end, people are always more terrified of the unknown and change, so much so that they often will not change, to their own detriment.   

[keithers]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

This is more common than you would think.   I was having lunch today with 2 of my friends (both of which are pretty financially successful)...they both have money invested in various places and are probably each bringing in 250-300k+ per year.  The only reason I mention their income is so that it is clear that they are educated and not financial peons...

When bitcoin got brought up in the conversation, one of them said "isn't that a scam?"   The other one said "Bitcoin got shut down and is out of business right?" 


This goes to show how there is so much propaganda out there.   You really have to take the time to sift through all the b.s. to actually find the truth about BTC.   A large percentage of people wouldn't even take the time...

[beetcoin]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

This is more common than you would think.   I was having lunch today with 2 of my friends (both of which are pretty financially successful)...they both have money invested in various places and are probably each bringing in 250-300k+ per year.  The only reason I mention their income is so that it is clear that they are educated and not financial peons...

When bitcoin got brought up in the conversation, one of them said "isn't that a scam?"   The other one said "Bitcoin got shut down and is out of business right?"  


This goes to show how there is so much propaganda out there.   You really have to take the time to sift through all the b.s. to actually find the truth about BTC.   A large percentage of people wouldn't even take the time...

that's the thing in life.. sometimes smart people can be really dumb, and really dumb people can be really smart. i still can't wrap my head around some of the dumb things that rich people do.. even if they are smart enough to amass a fortune.

[QuestionAuthority]

Meh, who needs a friend like that anyway. Just tell him you don't want a friend that keeps his nuts in his wife's purse.

[wachtwoord]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

Your friend should grow a pair. His wife should learn that thinking for yourself is a nice thing to do once in a while

Anyway, let it go. Nothing to gain here for you.

[LostDutchman]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

So what's wrong with untraceable money?

[freedomno1]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

.....

Thanks for sharing so the banks now are seriously misinformed on Bitcoin and turning away potential investors by calling it a scam.
I think I would go to the branch and show them all the vendors accepting it, the best counter here is adoption and proof the system is being used by organizations that are far from scams.

Considering they offer stocks bonds debentures and other financial products I guess the other reason to scare potential investors is that they don't want to give away any potential income to stuff they won't make any commissions from so they released a bulletin to that extent.

[rext]

bitcoin a scam? Lol.

Give it some time, i'm sure they will have a second opinion

[franky1]

lol

people suggesting to use retailers as a means of proof of legitimacy is one thing, but id suggest you show the IRS, HMRC tax office announcements of USA and UK that show thy have both declared it an asset... aswell as the merchants list.

the tax office announcements and even videos of bloomberg, nasdaq and others moving into the bitcoin arena should hit the spot, then say her wifes employers are just running scared of the future of bitcoins affecting their jobs. after all if people hold bitcoins who needs bank tellers/cashiers.

[Ron~Popeil]

People like that are the ones that will be scrambling to catch up. I think the bigger risk is in not owning at least some bit coin.

[DannyElfman]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

I think that the bank is likely not so much saying that bitcoin itself is a scam but rather there are a lot of bitcoin related scams out there and if you are "investing" in bitcoin then you have an elevated risk of being (or at least attempted of being) scammed.

[allthingsluxury]

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

Wow, its sad that this myth still exist. But it does.

[BitProdigy]

I sold some bitcoin rigs and transferred the money to the bank. It took a several days to clear, then I still waited a month or so before going down to make a withdrawal. They refused to give me my money until they could further research it. They wouldn't disclose any specific time frame to release the funds, other then they could hold it a few days or even 6 months. Apparently when I left the bank they froze all my accounts without telling me. They also refused to give me any reason, even after I researched and found they had no legal right to put a hold my account. I spoke to several other bank mangers from other banks who said they didn't have any legal right to freeze accounts without evidence of fraud. I did a little digging and got the number for the regional manager, they unfroze my accounts shorty after. Screw Wells Fargo. They act like your asking for a hand out when you go to get your own damn money.

wells fargo and bank of america have the worst reputation when it comes to accepting bitcoin related dollars. if that happened to me, i'd tell them what my rights were, and if they fucked with me i'd take it to the media.

The first question that arrises is:

1) Why do you want dollars?

and also

2) Why do you want to put them in a bank?

It seems to me that *banks* not wanting to hold onto your *dollars* isn't a problem at all….

Obvious solution:

1) Withdraw every sent you have in a bank.

and

2) Convert all of it into Bitcoin immediately.

Problem solved. 

[Maidak]

I sold some bitcoin rigs and transferred the money to the bank. It took a several days to clear, then I still waited a month or so before going down to make a withdrawal. They refused to give me my money until they could further research it. They wouldn't disclose any specific time frame to release the funds, other then they could hold it a few days or even 6 months. Apparently when I left the bank they froze all my accounts without telling me. They also refused to give me any reason, even after I researched and found they had no legal right to put a hold my account. I spoke to several other bank mangers from other banks who said they didn't have any legal right to freeze accounts without evidence of fraud. I did a little digging and got the number for the regional manager, they unfroze my accounts shorty after. Screw Wells Fargo. They act like your asking for a hand out when you go to get your own damn money.

wells fargo and bank of america have the worst reputation when it comes to accepting bitcoin related dollars. if that happened to me, i'd tell them what my rights were, and if they fucked with me i'd take it to the media.

The first question that arrises is:

1) Why do you want dollars?

and also

2) Why do you want to put them in a bank?

It seems to me that *banks* not wanting to hold onto your *dollars* isn't a problem at all….

Obvious solution:

1) Withdraw every sent you have in a bank.

and

2) Convert all of it into Bitcoin immediately.

Problem solved. 

Sounds pretty similar to what I did! The bank she works at is keybank by the way.

[Ron~Popeil]

I sold some bitcoin rigs and transferred the money to the bank. It took a several days to clear, then I still waited a month or so before going down to make a withdrawal. They refused to give me my money until they could further research it. They wouldn't disclose any specific time frame to release the funds, other then they could hold it a few days or even 6 months. Apparently when I left the bank they froze all my accounts without telling me. They also refused to give me any reason, even after I researched and found they had no legal right to put a hold my account. I spoke to several other bank mangers from other banks who said they didn't have any legal right to freeze accounts without evidence of fraud. I did a little digging and got the number for the regional manager, they unfroze my accounts shorty after. Screw Wells Fargo. They act like your asking for a hand out when you go to get your own damn money.

wells fargo and bank of america have the worst reputation when it comes to accepting bitcoin related dollars. if that happened to me, i'd tell them what my rights were, and if they fucked with me i'd take it to the media.

The first question that arrises is:

1) Why do you want dollars?

and also

2) Why do you want to put them in a bank?

It seems to me that *banks* not wanting to hold onto your *dollars* isn't a problem at all….

Obvious solution:

1) Withdraw every sent you have in a bank.

and

2) Convert all of it into Bitcoin immediately.

Problem solved. 

Other than bills and spending money I am getting closer to doing just that all the time. I sleep better at night knowing my savings isn't going to be worth less each morning.

[ThomasCrowne]

I am occasionally questioned by a couple of the tellers here in my town and it does seem to be the general consensus of bank workers.  When you've got scam artists like gox, tradefortress, and countless others essentially bilking people out of their coins in addition to all of the other negative press it's easy to see why established financial sector employees would have this opinion.  Hasn't kept one of them from investing a couple hundred dollars into it though after several at-length discussions

[nkocevar]

This is what tends to happen to me. Everyone always calls bitcoins only for addicts and drug dealers because of the silk road

[LiteCoinGuy]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

yeah, the people that i know laugh about bitcoin because its "virtual" money and funny   ...like the internet 20 years ago  
i guess that is a little bit better than your woman at the bank.

maybe you can show them some positive mainstream coverage about bitcoin. and please tell them that US Gov sold 30.000 BTC   !

[DannyElfman]

once someone has their mind made up, there's nothing you can really do. there is really no point in trying to dissuade them. this is the case especially with people who don't process the data given to them, but instead just take it as gospel.

Well my friend was really interested but since his wife works at a bank and she said scam, money laundering, bank notice where all tellers informed to watch out for it. He got scared and backed down I'm still going to do my part to educate both of them regardless if he is interested in investing or not.

yeah, the people that i know laugh about bitcoin because its "virtual" money and funny   ...like the internet 20 years ago  
i guess that is a little bit better than your woman at the bank.

maybe you can show them some positive mainstream coverage about bitcoin. and please tell them that US Gov sold 30.000 BTC   !

It should also be noted that tellers are essentially sales people (they also provide services) who will try to win your (additional) business. When you are taking large amounts of money out of your bank it would appear to them that you are taking your business elsewhere so they will try to sell you on keeping your business at that bank.

[justusranvier]

The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

That's exactly why Bitcoin is better money. The fact that it's increasingly difficult to use Dollars for that purpose is why the USD is a scam.

[haploid23]

Sadly, what Maidak described in the OP is the same type of info that your everyday friend hears from news negativity.

I recently got a sister in law interested in bitcoin, but her husband killed all desire of getting me to help her obtain some because he said feds will come in your house to bust you if they find out. These are pretty wild statements, so I'm not even sure where someone gets these kind of ideas.

[Bit_Happy]

Sadly, what Maidak described in the OP is the same type of info that your everyday friend hears from news negativity.

I recently got a sister in law interested in bitcoin, but her husband killed all desire of getting me to help her obtain some because he said feds will come in your house to bust you if they find out. These are pretty wild statements, so I'm not even sure where someone gets these kind of ideas.

Perhaps it's a combination of rational fear mixed in with listening to Alex Jones?
Americans have way too much too fear after decades of Drug Warriors busting down people's doors.

[theblacksquid]

Sadly, what Maidak described in the OP is the same type of info that your everyday friend hears from news negativity.

I recently got a sister in law interested in bitcoin, but her husband killed all desire of getting me to help her obtain some because he said feds will come in your house to bust you if they find out. These are pretty wild statements, so I'm not even sure where someone gets these kind of ideas.

Perhaps it's a combination of rational fear mixed in with listening to Alex Jones?
Americans have way too much too fear after decades of Drug Warriors busting down people's doors.

All those statements actually made me feel REALLY, REALLY glad I am not in the US right now. All of my experience in telling people what bitcoin is and what it does usually results in positive feedback from them. Maybe it helps that I'm usually in the tech savvy crowd, but I'm not sure. My dad is not very computer literate, but he says that money like this would be big here in the Philippines.

[Maidak]

Sadly, what Maidak described in the OP is the same type of info that your everyday friend hears from news negativity.

I recently got a sister in law interested in bitcoin, but her husband killed all desire of getting me to help her obtain some because he said feds will come in your house to bust you if they find out. These are pretty wild statements, so I'm not even sure where someone gets these kind of ideas.

Perhaps it's a combination of rational fear mixed in with listening to Alex Jones?
Americans have way too much too fear after decades of Drug Warriors busting down people's doors.

Its really getting annoying in my honest opinion. I do my fair part to try an get everyone including the locl brick an mortar shops interested in accepting it as a payment form. Even offer free advice and guidance on how to accept it and how the processing fees are virtually nothing. Only to be shot down a few days later from the already negative info that went wide spread and is one of the first things they find out when they do there own digging around.

[adamstgBit]

Newegg accepting scam currency?  
US government selling scam currency?

.. and the list goes on!

+1

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

tell him to tell his wife to tell her boss that its not a scam.

your friend should probably buy before everyone figures out its not a scam.

[Maidak]

Newegg accepting scam currency?  
US government selling scam currency?

.. and the list goes on!

+1

Last week I got a friend very interested in bitcoin and gave him a educated run down on what it is exactly. Today I called him to see if he was still interested in jumping on board to only find out his wife who works at a bank informed him that it is nothing more then a scam.

I was curious so I asked apparently the bank received a notice describing bitcoin as far as I am aware illegal and a scam etc. at least this is what I got from our brief conversation. I'm going to stop over there and talk to her a little bit more and see what it is she is able to disclose exactly.

Regardless slightly upset of the picture that the uneducated have painted not from the media just word of mouth.. He said he's going to research it himself but generally when wifey puts her foot down its yes dear.

Edit: The primary factor in it was money laundering and untraceable money.

tell him to tell his wife to tell her boss that its not a scam.

your friend should probably buy before everyone figures out its not a scam.

It wasn't just about buying and holding more or less he use to play online poker which is what got started. From there explained to him about the mining aspect, trading algorithms and yes your buy and hold. List goes on and on as you all know. I did eventually convince him to play some poker with BTC but as far as him taking it seriously I don't think he was anymore interested then the .2 BTC he got for free..

[keithers]

Coincidentally each time i have told a friend about BTC, they have bought some and then prices have dropped...significantly. Lol. They are all still holding them to see where it goes though

[harles9]

It was a result of my friend suggesting to me about 5 months ago to get into Bitcoin that I invested and I haven't looked back.  Him and I partnered up and now have a.... ridiculous hashing farm.
Oh... and hello to everyone on these forums.   

[freedomno1]

Coincidentally each time i have told a friend about BTC, they have bought some and then prices have dropped...significantly. Lol. They are all still holding them to see where it goes though

I'm telling mine to start entering the market now
So not expecting it to crash but then again the markets are the markets but my logic is if they spend 2 weeks doing the verification by the time they get in they will have noticed it's volatility range and have a better understanding of it lol.

Been gradual ever heard of Bitcoin hmm nope let them research a bit ask a few months later same question
Oh I've heard of it neat stuff and then me yah let it rest a bit longer
And now hmm interested in getting some sure how do I do it lol.

[antonioserrano72]

Who goes to his bank toa ask for advice? Seriously?

[freedomno1]

Who goes to his bank toa ask for advice? Seriously?

Some people apparently
But there's a nice audio here of a banker lol.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=684079.msg7760483#msg7760483

http://vocaroo.com/player.swf?playMediaID=s0u4rwNFT0A4&autoplay=0

Listening to it myself just going darn Chase bank.

[seriouscoin]

wow reading some replies here and ...:facepalm:

You must be a moron to tell your friends to invest into something/anything.

Instead, you should only educate them about bitcoin while retaining from giving financial advice.


As for OP, stop pushing like a fcking saleman, You're making it looks like a pyramid scheme now.

[Maidak]

wow reading some replies here and ...:facepalm:

You must be a moron to tell your friends to invest into something/anything.

Instead, you should only educate them about bitcoin while retaining from giving financial advice.


As for OP, stop pushing like a fcking saleman, You're making it looks like a pyramid scheme now.

I don't think your quite getting what my intentions were and it wasnt to act as a "fucking salesman". I let him know all the beneficial reasons that bitcoin is about,and if he was interested how to get started. As as as i'm concerned there was nothing I said that was even remotely close to what a pyramid scheme is. What my OP was about is how the general people including ones who work for banks view bitcoin.

[franky1]

I don't think your quite getting what my intentions were and it wasnt to act as a "fucking salesman". I let him know all the beneficial reasons that bitcoin is about,and if he was interested how to get started. As as as i'm concerned there was nothing I said that was even remotely close to what a pyramid scheme is. What my OP was about is how the general people including ones who work for banks view bitcoin.

ofcourse their going to personally not like bitcoins because they think their jobs are at risk if people start using bitcoin and start not needing FIAT.

its like a person at a farmers market selling naturally grown apples (now classed as organic so the GM apples can steal the term 'apples' to not have to admit they are GM, but anyways).. these organic apple sellers are worried that other apple sellers(GM) will make perfectly round, shiny, colorful apples that never get pests or worms eating them and able to sell them cheaper.. so organic farmers will shout to the heavens that GM foods cause cancer and turn you into lizard people.

diverging back to topic..
my bank loves my bitcoin business and is fully aware, all because i explained the simple fact that when i sell bitcoins, it involves people putting FIAT into my bank account.. meaning my bank is making money. (conversations were longer and more indepth, but that was the simple version)

[wachtwoord]

Who goes to his bank toa ask for advice? Seriously?

Haha, banks from here make commercials all the time about that. Honestly, it's the last place I'd go but apparently a lot of people still think they're experts.

[BitchicksHusband]

I don't think your quite getting what my intentions were and it wasnt to act as a "fucking salesman". I let him know all the beneficial reasons that bitcoin is about,and if he was interested how to get started. As as as i'm concerned there was nothing I said that was even remotely close to what a pyramid scheme is. What my OP was about is how the general people including ones who work for banks view bitcoin.

ofcourse their going to personally not like bitcoins because they think their jobs are at risk if people start using bitcoin and start not needing FIAT.

its like a person at a farmers market selling naturally grown apples (now classed as organic so the GM apples can steal the term 'apples' to not have to admit they are GM, but anyways).. these organic apple sellers are worried that other apple sellers(GM) will make perfectly round, shiny, colorful apples that never get pests or worms eating them and able to sell them cheaper.. so organic farmers will shout to the heavens that GM foods cause cancer and turn you into lizard people.

diverging back to topic..
my bank loves my bitcoin business and is fully aware, all because i explained the simple fact that when i sell bitcoins, it involves people putting FIAT into my bank account.. meaning my bank is making money. (conversations were longer and more indepth, but that was the simple version)

I told Bank of America that I couldn't wait until bitcoin put them out of business... 

[freedomno1]

Who goes to his bank toa ask for advice? Seriously?

Haha, banks from here make commercials all the time about that. Honestly, it's the last place I'd go but apparently a lot of people still think they're experts.

Yep I've seen a lot of advertisements about going to see their Financial Advisers for one thing or another. come see our representatives today.
But perhaps those ones are fine since they had to take the finance courses for it, just not the tellers lol.
But its still all about making money most of the time.

[AdamWhite]

I cringe whenever I hear of people telling their friends/family they should buy bitcoins. Seems you have no issues with offering unsolicited investment advice? Actually calling and visiting them to see if they bought bitcoin is kind of bizarre behavior imho

Bitcoin is extremely volatile, all too easily you will have people that used to be your friend pissed off at you because they're losing money.

If you really want your friends/family to have some coin, give them a few bucks worth. The ones that are truly interested will buy more on their own.

[franky1]

I told Bank of America that I couldn't wait until bitcoin put them out of business...  

and thats the fastest way to get your account closed. i done the opposite and my bank loves me and for 2 years+ of being into bitcoin, i have had no issues at all....

if your going to talk badly to them, be prepared for them to think badly of you.

yea, i dont like the banking system, but you gotta learn the game if you want to win

[seriouscoin]

I don't think your quite getting what my intentions were and it wasnt to act as a "fucking salesman". I let him know all the beneficial reasons that bitcoin is about,and if he was interested how to get started. As as as i'm concerned there was nothing I said that was even remotely close to what a pyramid scheme is. What my OP was about is how the general people including ones who work for banks view bitcoin.

ofcourse their going to personally not like bitcoins because they think their jobs are at risk if people start using bitcoin and start not needing FIAT.

its like a person at a farmers market selling naturally grown apples (now classed as organic so the GM apples can steal the term 'apples' to not have to admit they are GM, but anyways).. these organic apple sellers are worried that other apple sellers(GM) will make perfectly round, shiny, colorful apples that never get pests or worms eating them and able to sell them cheaper.. so organic farmers will shout to the heavens that GM foods cause cancer and turn you into lizard people.

diverging back to topic..
my bank loves my bitcoin business and is fully aware, all because i explained the simple fact that when i sell bitcoins, it involves people putting FIAT into my bank account.. meaning my bank is making money. (conversations were longer and more indepth, but that was the simple version)

I told Bank of America that I couldn't wait until bitcoin put them out of business...  

For like a million times, your hubby should chain you to the kitchen. You're too dumb to let you loose.

Who talks like that? Bank is a business with their own right of their services, you dont like it fck off.

[haploid23]

my bank loves my bitcoin business and is fully aware, all because i explained the simple fact that when i sell bitcoins, it involves people putting FIAT into my bank account.. meaning my bank is making money.

What bank is this? I'd love to open a business account with them.

Another point I want to bring up is that you're using the term "my bank" very loosely. There are many departments, and only one department, usually the fraud department, determines whether your bitcoin business is acceptable or not. The bankers that work inside the physical branches have no say in whether your bitcoin business is ok or not.

[jubalix]

its fine, it gives BTC much more time to consolidate and gives buying opportunities.

when btc gets to 100K a pop, so many people will be kicking themselves, including they person at the bank (now defunct) that gave that advice.

BTC almost selects out people who can understand it according to its uptake.

[HeliKopterBen]

Dont worry, the dumb money will eventually come in at much higher prices. 

[DannyElfman]

I told Bank of America that I couldn't wait until bitcoin put them out of business...  

and thats the fastest way to get your account closed. i done the opposite and my bank loves me and for 2 years+ of being into bitcoin, i have had no issues at all....

if your going to talk badly to them, be prepared for them to think badly of you.

yea, i dont like the banking system, but you gotta learn the game if you want to win

You really cannot tell a bank something like this, you simply don't have anyone to say it to. You can say it to one of their employees, but they are simply doing their job when they interact with you.

[Harley997]

Who goes to his bank toa ask for advice? Seriously?

Haha, banks from here make commercials all the time about that. Honestly, it's the last place I'd go but apparently a lot of people still think they're experts.

Banks tend to give advice to people that revolve around the customer giving the bank more business. It is really less advice and more selling additional products/services to the customer.

[acs267]

i've only spoken to a few people irl about bitcoin. my family and friends generally see it as some kind of pyramid scheme or scam. however, i did meet one older man who was a libertarian and very interested in bitcoin, but he would not invest because he believed governments worldwide would ban it, and they would become worthless.

if i do talk to someone about bitcoin, i just give them a quick explanation and suggest they research it on their own and form their opinion. if they think its a scam, so be it.

You deserve a 'bing'. Told my family about it, also, they also seem to think it's a scam, calling it 'drug money'. I've just stopped trying to say otherwise completely, since everyone has opinions. But, meh.

[phillipsjk]

Thanks for sharing so the banks now are seriously misinformed on Bitcoin and turning away potential investors by calling it a scam.
I think I would go to the branch and show them all the vendors accepting it, the best counter here is adoption and proof the system is being used by organizations that are far from scams.

My bank is known to be Bitcoin-hostile. I don't mention Bitcoin at all. I just quietly opened an checking account at a competing bank instead (disclosing my intention to buy/sell Bitcoin approximately monthly).

That was not my only reason for leaving: they also took money out of the wrong bank account and charged a double overdraft fee for my trouble.

[wasserman99]

Well, I know how it is. Can't say no to the wife. Story sounds pretty crazy, though -- illegal/scam? I've never heard of banks to hold that position, certainly at this point. But some are still stuck in the past.

[Cryptopher]

I can see why ill-informed/un-informed people believe that Bitcoin is a scam, because they are told that it as a high-risk money making scheme where there are winners and losers. In some respects that is a valid view, depending on your approach to Bitcoin i.e. blindly daytrading.

I enjoy telling people at work etc about Bitcoin, I don't think that I would advise them to invest as I wouldn't be able to accept any losses or stress that they incurred as a result. But I think that it's important for your friend to accept the points you make about Bitcoin as a solution to financial, security and trust problems, rather than just the naysaying wife who views it for the thing than 99% of noobs see it as, a money spinner.