A receipt is a written acknowledgment that a specified article or sum of money has been received. A receipt records the purchase of goods or service obtained in an exchange.

I cant believe people send anonymous individuals thousands of bitcoins without even requiring a simple acknowledgement that they received a good or service. In some cases refusing to supply such a receipt is illegal and the business owner can be prosecuted.

If a business you are sending coins to refuse to supply these receipts you can safely assume they are a scam.

A receipt should be signed and dated and have the person/business details you got the service or good from. In the event of a fraud you will then have something to show the relevent authorities. Dont go and report a bitcoin theft without this proof because the police will simply fob you off.

There are many consumer protection agencies out there that will investigate any company refusing to hand over a proof of purchase when requested. There is good reason pirate avoided glbse and always refused to send anyone proof that they had sent him coins. No  one has a receipt that they even did so and going to the cops without any shred of physical proof is foolhardy. It would certainly be legitimate to complain if you had an actual receipt so always ask for one and warn people if bitcoin companies fail to provide it.

Hell...even a timestamped email is better than nothing.