INDEX

1. Look at the reputation
2. Always trade with escrow
3. Verify payments
4. Select your payment method wisely

Person-to-person (p2p) markets, such as Ccoins,offer you the ability to contact other people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with escrow, which makes it easier for you to set your own trading conditions and operate with a wide variety of payment methods. However, trading on these platforms requires sticking to a number of good practices to further minimize the risk of scam. Here are a number of precautions to trade P2P cryptocurrency markets more securely.

1. Look at reputation

When you want to start a commercial operation with someone look at their user score statistics in their profile. There you can find the proportion of positive and negative scores you have received from people you have traded with. Now, if on the platform on which you operate there are available comments from your trading peers, read them; through them you will be able to find out the final result of their operations, as well as the impression they have left. You should analyze what negative comments reflect, to make sure there are no signs of dishonest behavior. In short, look for the reputation elements of the platform on which you are operating and estimate that information.

2. Always trade with a security deposit

The escrow is a security mechanism that consists of putting cryptocurrencies in protection during the exchange operation; the protection provided by this system is that neither the buyer nor the seller can dispose of them for themselves until the seller releases them in favor of the seller after verifying payment.

Some P2P marketplaces like Localcryptos require the seller to put the funds into the escrow manually; when trading on platforms like those, as a buyer, you should pay attention to the exchange interface to make sure that the cryptocurrencies have been put into escrow before making the payment. In the case of Ccoins you will not have to worry about it, because the funds are automatically safeguarded when starting the exchange operation.

You should also avoid making operations through social networks or private messaging chats, that is, you should not sell cryptocurrencies through Facebook, Whatsapp or Telegram, since in these applications you are not protected and you are vulnerable to a scam attempt. If someone in a P2P market tries to persuade you to operate without this protection system you should be wary of it.

3. Verify payments

Once the funds are in the security deposit, if you are the buyer you will need to make the payment and provide proof. As a seller, once you receive proof of payment, it is essential that you enter your account and verify that you have indeed been credited. Do not be fooled by false vouchers or let yourself be pressured, until there is a real disbursement you should not proceed. It is also important to note that if you perceive a suspicious situation you should immediately start a business dispute. Some situations you should be alert to are:

• Your bank account has been locked and you can’t verify the veracity of the payment.
• The payment has not been made according to the agreed conditions.
• The voucher does not correspond to what is reflected in your account.

4. Select the payment method wisely

Accepting some payment methods carry greater risks compared to others. As a seller, you’ll need to exercise greater caution when agreeing to exchange your cryptocurrencies for PayPal balance, due to the frequency with which scammers use their internal dispute system to reverse payments. Another complicated payment method can be the “giftcards”, since in many cases it is difficult to verify the veracity of a payment made with them. If you’re just starting out, we recommend using less hassome payment methods like bank transfer and cash deposit.