Listen to Turtle..
Bitcoin Rules to Live By.
Safe Trading Tips for bitcoin-OTC.com
1. Never trade with someone who isn’t authenticated (;;ident).
2. Never trade with someone who doesn’t have a long and good AND RECENT trade history. (check ;;gettrust, ;;events).
3. Never trust anyone on a proxy / tor / vpn / vps.
4. Anyone with the words ‘btc’ or ‘bitcoin’ in their name is automatically suspect.
5. Never lend bitcoin.
6. Don’t trust anyone from
7. Don’t trust anyone from
8. Don’t EVER talk about your money, worth, or wealth. (and don't listen to those that do)
9. Don’t leave large sums in shared or online wallets. (or other online games or services)
10. Encrypt your wallet.
11. If someone is scammer tagged, don’t give them the benefit of the doubt.
12. High yield investment programs (HYIP) or loans are pretty much always scams.
13. Never let someone control your computer ( Teamviewer / Skype scams).
14. There are no tricks to avoid chargebacks when converting USDollars.
15. People with good reps can turn bad or get in a bad spot. Having a good rep does not mean they will never scam.
16. Break up large transactions into smaller ones, preferably with multiple people.
17. Never trust a man who “just moved” to
18. Don’t trust someone who can’t speak proper English or your language of choice.
19. It’s ok to demand to see someone’s identification. ( I believe for larger trades, you should know exactly who you are dealing with)
20. Don’t trade with someone you can’t press charges against or that is geographically inconvenient for you to show up at their house.
· See Number #6
21. Get it in writing. it’s easier to state your case and enforce an agreement if it’s formalized.
· a chat log is ok.
· a gpg dual-signed piece of text is better.
· spell out the arrangement
· avoid ambiguity
· include specific dates, times and amounts, etc.
22. Don’t trust fast talkers, sweet talkers or smooth talkers. Those that have 'Done it All', probably have scammed also.
23. If someone gets agitated when you ask questions, they were probably trying to scam you.
24. If you meet someone face-to-face, meet in a public place.
25. Many people offer escrow. use it. BUT ONLY IF YOU TRUST THE PERSON OFFERING ESCROW.
26. Pay your taxes. it’s better than getting ass-raped in jail.
27. Don’t trust gamblers, addicts, or people who are constantly broke.
28. Beware trailing ‘ or ` or _ characters in names.
29. Don’t let someone tell you they are “highly rated” when they aren’t. And revisit rule #2 about LONG TIME ratings.
30. Someone buying just to build ratings is suspicious. this goes for the OTC, btcjam, or anywhere else. beware.
31. Don’t use paypal. - come on. people tell you this all the time. and for a reason.
32. You will eventually hear someone say “come on, it’s not like I’m going to scam someone for just 2 bucks”.
33. Don’t trust anyone on bb.sky.
34. People with non-random X's ending their name are highly likely to be a scammer.
35. Unsolicited messages / spam / requests to trade are almost always scams.
36. Trust your gut. It is a powerful tool for catching scammers.
37. Set up both gpg and bitcoin address authentication in OTC.
38. ....And always remember that Nobody listens to turtle :(
-- Amended January 4, 2017 --
Original un-edited cultofturtle.com text can be found here: http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=hKkrv3YS
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