dangers of buying bitcoin from random person?

gregorystephen · Jul 14, 2022

As you may know based on my previous thread, I have been looking for a way to buy bitcoin anonymously and without outrageous fee. I found this guy on some website who is local to me. unfortunately, I used my real phone number to text him. We are going to meet and I will pay him cash and he will send btc to my wallet.

What are the dangers of buying bitcoin from a total stranger? I am not talking about getting a gun pulled on you and having your cash stolen. I am talking about legal stuff. I am not at all familiar with bitcoin.
is there such a thing as "dirty" bitcoin or stolen bitcoin?
is the act of buying bitcoin without ID in and of itself illegal?
I just don't want to get a visit from the feds after buying.

SocialManager · Jul 14, 2022

I really wouldn't be worried about anything other than being robbed. Bitcoin is very mainstream and legitimate now. Bitcoin can kind of be "blacklisted" as being from theft or hacks, but I really don't think that would be an issue here. That is something that happens on a much larger scale. You can still use your Bitcoin too privately, just can't move it to an exchange that uses that blacklist. Buying Bitcoin is legal in the USA, you do not need to provide any ID for such a purchase.

bartosimpsonio · Jul 14, 2022

This is risky IMO

Local person knows you got bitcoins.

roydan · Jul 14, 2022

Meet in a public place and don't let them go unless you see at least 3 confirmations.

k2h2 · Jul 14, 2022

You should deal in public area, can be near a police station.

jesscika · Jul 14, 2022

this is risky bro take 2/3 stronge peoples with you for safety

moonshine7000 · Jul 14, 2022

If you are afraid of or love the government then don't do it.

gregorystephen · Jul 14, 2022

roydan said:
Meet in a public place and don't let them go unless you see at least 3 confirmations.

I thought after 1 confirmation the transaction cannot be reversed. I don't know anything about this stuff but usually when I pay sms verification services by bitcoin they give me credit after 1 confirmation.

awesomewebsites · Jul 14, 2022

Is trading Bitcoin legal in your country? This can be a trap if it is not.

LuckyGamble · Jul 14, 2022

roydan said:
Meet in a public place and don't let them go unless you see at least 3 confirmations.

1 confirmation is enough. More confirmations would be needed if the amount traded was billions,, due to the cost of trying to double-spend in the btc blockchain.

gregorystephen said:
I thought after 1 confirmation the transaction cannot be reversed. I don't know anything about this stuff but usually when I pay sms verification services by bitcoin they give me credit after 1 confirmation.

yeah 1 confirmation is safe enough for anything less than a few billion dollars.

Ashk881 · Jul 14, 2022

gregorystephen said:
is the act of buying bitcoin without ID in and of itself illegal?

The Bitcoin protocol itself doesn't have any such requirement (like Visa or other mainstream payment networks).

Their might be restrictions specific to your country tho. Check your local laws.

gregorystephen said:
is there such a thing as "dirty" bitcoin or stolen bitcoin

Yes. There indeed is "dirty" Bitcoin. It's Bitcoin that is involved in a scam or hack. But the Bitcoin itself does not have any such attribute to it's data that says it's "dirty".
Its just like real currency. Just like how you don't want to deal with laundered cash.

Just check that before buying, the address you are getting your Bitcoin from isn't in the Bitcoin Abuse db. https://www.bitcoinabuse.com/

gregorystephen said:
I just don't want to get a visit from the feds after buying.

Don't worry. Owning Bitcoin (hopefully) isn't a crime where you live. It's like torrenting. Torrenting a file itself isn't a crime. What you torrent is tho.

Just don't trade with terrorists, scammers or criminals and you should be good.

Monzani · Jul 14, 2022

if it is a high value, it is convenient to hire two strong men from a nearby gym, for security purposes only

ViP · Jul 14, 2022

Avoid it. random bad things can happen. Use any alternatives

roydan · Jul 14, 2022

gregorystephen said:
I thought after 1 confirmation the transaction cannot be reversed. I don't know anything about this stuff but usually when I pay sms verification services by bitcoin they give me credit after 1 confirmation.

LuckyGamble said:
1 confirmation is enough. More confirmations would be needed if the amount traded was billions,, due to the cost of trying to double-spend in the btc blockchain.

There used to be a scam where transactions got stuck on 1 transaction and then reversed after an hour or so. It was a long time ago, but I got stuck with the habit.

LuckyGamble · Jul 14, 2022

roydan said:
There used to be a scam where transactions got stuck on 1 transaction and then reversed after an hour or so. It was a long time ago, but I got stuck with the habit.

Interesting. Could you share a link about that ?

bartosimpsonio · Jul 14, 2022

roydan said:
Meet in a public place and don't let them go unless you see at least 3 confirmations.

So gotta prepare to talk with a stranger for at least 30 minutes, since each confirmation takes 10.

roydan · Jul 15, 2022

bartosimpsonio said:
gotta prepare to talk with a stranger for at least 30 minutes, since each confirmation takes 10.

This is what I do: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsfriends&hl=en&gl=US

Hawkeye Digital · Jul 15, 2022

Its not issue , many are local traders , so Chill mate !

xReminisce · Jul 16, 2022

gregorystephen said:
is there such a thing as "dirty" bitcoin or stolen bitcoin?

Yes, "dirty" bitcoins could potentially be seized or frozen when you put it to an exchange to withdraw it
Is that "local" person "dirty" too lol? he may as well be laundering assets aswell.
You never know

gregorystephen said:
is the act of buying bitcoin without ID in and of itself illegal?
I just don't want to get a visit from the feds after buying.

Probably, depends on your country, is crypto legal there?

bartosimpsonio · Jul 16, 2022

xReminisce said:
Yes, "dirty" bitcoins could potentially be seized or frozen when you put it to an exchange to withdraw it
Is that "local" person "dirty" too lol? he may as well be laundering assets aswell.
You never know

That's a great point. I think localbitcoins have a chain analysis system, if anyone deposits coins from known criminal or suspicious sources, they'll ban the account. But with straight P2P you never know.

Also even exchange wallets sometimes get confused for criminal sources, since some bad addresses end up depositing there. So never send coins directly from one exchange to another. Always use your own wallet where you know you got no "tainted" addresses.

dangers of buying bitcoin from random person?

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