Urgent - Marketplace Fraud Is Getting Worse, We Need an Official Middleman/Escrow Service

Dear BlackHatWorld Admins & Moderators,

I'm writing this post out of genuine concern for the safety of our marketplace community. After browsing the Dispute section today, I came across a case where a seller with an account dating back to 2007 scammed a buyer out of $3,200. This is deeply alarming, if even long-standing, aged accounts can be used to commit fraud, no buyer is truly safe.

The pattern is becoming clear:
1. Scammers purchase aged BHW accounts and Jr. VIP memberships specifically to appear trustworthy.
2. Buyers pay upfront , especially for high-value orders , and never receive what was promised.
3. By the time a dispute is filed, the damage is done.

This problem is especially severe with crypto payments, since transactions are irreversible by nature.

Proposed Solution: An Official BHW Middleman / Escrow Service

I'd like to respectfully request that the administration consider introducing a built-in Middleman (MM) or Escrow system for the Marketplace, with the following workflow:

1. Buyer sends payment → Funds held in escrow (especially for crypto).
2. Seller delivers the product/service as described in the listing.
3. Buyer reviews and confirms receipt within a set timeframe (e.g., 48–72 hours).
4. If buyer confirms → Payment released to seller immediately.
5. If buyer does not respond within the deadline → Payment auto-released to seller (to protect sellers too).
6. If buyer raises a dispute → Moderator steps in to review evidence before funds are released.

This protects both sides:
- Buyers are protected from paying upfront and receiving nothing.
- Legitimate sellers are protected from false disputes, since funds are held fairly and released upon confirmed delivery.

Many reputable forums and marketplaces already operate this way. BHW has the trust, the infrastructure, and the community size to make this work.

I urge the admin team to look into this seriously. The marketplace is one of BHW's greatest assets, and right now it's being exploited. Every scam that goes unaddressed damages the reputation of the entire community.

i always deal with MM and never have a problem with it

Nonused said:

i always deal with MM and never have a problem with it

Click to expand...

Few know but others don't know and scam happened atleast above $100 or $200 should be through Middleman

I'm moving this to suggestions and feedback since it's brought up once every few months.

As you can see here, it's already been discussed multiple times. https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/why-not-set-up-an-escrow-transaction.1721750/post-19377070

On top of this:

1.) buyers DO need to do their own due diligence with sellers.
2.) for large item purchases, there's nothing stopping a buyer and seller from using an escrow service. Escrow.com is widely used, trusted, and highly suggested. If the seller doesn't want to use it, or is giving excuses, that could potentially be a red flag. Proceed with extreme caution.
3.) if, for some reason, an already established escrow service is out of the question then use a payment service that has a dispute/chargeback option like Paypal.
4.) if the seller insists on Crypto, then that too could potentially be a red flag. Proceed with caution.

Plus, as stated before, we're working on developing Marketplace 2 which will have some protection built in.

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