Hi,
I am using localbitcoins for the first time , deposited some btc , created an ad for western union payments and left it open.
Few minutes later when I came , I noticed that 0,5 btc were deducted from my account, a random guy has left a message giving me his email and marked payment as complete, I started the dispute and did not release the bitcoins but they were already deducted.
I quickly wrote a message to support explaining the situation ,
can someone tell me if this is an usual thing there and what are the chances of getting scammed like this? I am worried and already started to regret using locabitcoins ...
First of all Localbitcoins is not a exchange company, it is just a platform where people come together to have their funds exchanged. It's similar to a forum of like-minded people. I have been using their platform since a long time now and till date I haven't faced any issue. Usually I sell my bitcoins through their platform and receive fiat money in my local currency from any trader who is offering a good price. When a send a trade request to a trader, my funds go in to escrow and I usually receive the money in to my bank account within maximum 10 minutes.
I don't what went wrong for you. But I believe their support will be able to assist you within the due time. But I know a lot of people here will be supporting localbitcoin because it is really a fantastic platform with very less/no issues.