Semi-relevant here
Original Post: https://pay.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/5us3e0/a_guy_and_his_girlfriend_rob_me_and_assaulted_me/
Link to site: https://localbitcoins.com/forums/?_escaped_fragment_=/general-discussion:double-spending-cash-robb
Site Text:
On 16.02.2017 daveguye [https://localbitcoins.com/p/daveguye/] opens a trade with me on Localbitcoins to BUY Bitcoins with cash in London for 3500 GBP. Shortly after the trade is open i get a phone call from 07459 572 758 saying he is daveguye from LocalBitcoins and when we can meet. It was a new account but i made nothing of it. He tells that his girlfriend is going to meet me as he is out of London. I agree and tell him i will get back to him in a few hours so we can arrange a meeting place. I call him now to arrange a meeting place. We agree on Euston station and I said we can do the trade in one of the cafes. He tells me he wants to do the transfer with escrow as she is a girl and she is afraid to do it. I make nothing of it and say ok. He asks me if i can do more. i say yes and tell him to tell me the amount when we meet so he can open trade for how much he wants. I get at Euston and call him to let him know i have picked Cafe Rouge for the meeting place and he says he wants to buy for 6200 GBP - 7.09201800 Bitcoin. I find a table sit down call him again and te ll him he can open the trade and that i will load the escrow when she sits down. After 20 minutes he sends me an SMS "She there now". I call again, he says it a girl with a green hat. I stand up see her at entrance, wave my hand she comes to the table. She was about 5 feet high with red hair, green baseball cap and jeans with a pink top underneath her green ish jacket. Shortly after she takes a seat i call daveguye and tell him that after i count the money and check it with my magic market i will release the Bitcoins, and he can tell her that everything is ok and trade over. I ask her for the money. She hands it in a blue plastic bag with a envelope that had money inside. I start counting money, and after I tell her that i have to check it with my magic marker, i do this with all the money i receive. "It's ok babe" she replies. Money was ok, quantity and quality and i tell her i am going to release the coins now. I put the money under my leg, she has no problem. Right after i release the coins, she says: Her: - Give me the money ! Me: - Sorry? Her: I need to hold the money. Me: What do you mean the coin are with you now? What do you mean hold the money? Her: Babe i need to hold the money? At this point she gets closer to the table and puts her heads towards me. Me: Call your boy so he can admin the coins are with you. Her: My phone is dead. Me: Ok i ll call him now. I call him he picks up: Mate, look your girl is acting crazy coins are release please tell her it's ok. I put the phone near her year as i was holding it tight. She wants to take the phone from my hand, and take a stronger grip on my phone and say: Me: - NO. From my hand! Her: He is not letting me hold the money. With a stressed tone. Now she leans twords me to get closer to the money. Me: This is not ok. I am calling the police righ now. And i dial 999. Now people were noticing something was up and everyone was looking at us. I look strait and a guy about 6 feet tall wearing a grey hody over his comes straight to our table pass the hostes and says: Him: - Excuse miiss are you ok? In this moment i realise it s not good and i yell: Me: - Call the police i am being robbed, they are mugging me ! Help ! For a moment everyone freezes. She goes for my hand and scraches and both start hitting me with their closed fists. After taking some punches in the head, i let go of the money, and they fleed the scene I yell again. Some one call the police. I was just robbed. Shortly after the police arrives. I go to police they take a statement from me. After they take me to hospital, where i have a paper saying i have minor head injuries and a scrach on my hand. As i was in the police station i wrote to LocalBitcoins support to freeze the account because I was robbed. When he realises he can't take the coins out he calls me. I answer and he threatens me. I tell him: You have both the money and the Bitcoin, give one back. He says: Give me your home address and i ll come and give you back the cash. I say absolutely NO, he hangs up. The police advice me to not answer to that number anymore. Same number i got phone calls before and during the trade. After about an hour the account his account is frezed and they asked me to provide evidance for my claims. I ask if the coins left the account and they say they can't provide futhure information since they are still waiting for evidance. I tell them i am in the hospital getting checked and upload the paper they give and says how i was injured. The police also give me a Crime reference number that i can provide to Localbitcoins. On the paper from hospital said it would be better to spend a night at a friend so that's what i did. After i get to my friend's place where i spent the night, i write to the support again explaining, the whole story in detail. And upload, a screen shot of my phone that show the SMS i recieved when the girl got at the caffe. At 7 in the morning, they asure me they got my messages and banned the account and a support agent in charge of the case will review it when it comes to his duty later this day. At 7 o'clock in the morning i get a phone call from a private number. It's him and he starts saying that he wants to get his bitcoins out of LBC. I hang up and call on his number. He answers and he says: Look if i don't get my Bitcoin back i will call you up on trades and beat you up. He has no clue i was at the police. I say: You know what you are not getting nothing, you beat me and stole my money, after i released the Bitcoins to you. You have nothing now mate, that s why you called. So get on your bike because you are not going to do nothing. Him: Listen here i know a lot of people in the Bitcoin industry I know verified traders. I hang up. A few hours later i get a call from the the Police to present myself to the station so they can put the paper work together. I get there and explained what happened and of course it was weird, because Bitcoin. The sergent was very nice and sayd if the LocalBitcoins people want to enquire what i said they can contact him and he will talk with them and gives me his business card. I tell the support this and sent the Sergent's details. No respons, I ask for an update. They reply : Sorry but a card from a Police officer is no proof of your claims. We need the police to contact us to confirm. I explain that was not the pourpouse of me sending the business card, and that It's kinda hard to ask the police to contact LocalBitcoins.com From this point on i got no response from LBC. I contact the Sargent again, he again very nice says that will contact the website tomorrow. I am missing 6200 GBP - 7.09201800 and did not do any trades today, not to say i was beaten up. During all of this he opens this thread on the LocalBitcoins forrum https://localbitcoins.com/forums/#!/general-discussion:unfreeze-my-account And acuses me that i hit on his girlfriend. And in this thread another trader admits they did same thing to him doing same thing IN THE SAME DAY !!!
In the comments another seller mentions that they got him too! So crazy. It's probably possible to tweak this scam to run on buyers but as long as you use verified sellers you should be fine!
Fuck people interaction. Banks only.