Thank you guys. Ye all are truly amazing! I really appreciate the education! I have signed up for localcoinswap so I guess now I have to find someone "trustworthy" to send him/her $ and hope that they'll deposit the equivalent bitcoins into my localcoinswap account/wallet. It's a "coin toss" really...coz I can send the $ through say "western union" to someone, they get the dough and never deposit the coins in my wallet! Is there any way to minimize my risk here? Thanks
Yes.
Use Coinbase.
I know that's not fashionable but it's the most solid company in the crypto space. Many people dislike their politics and actions but when it comes to the security of your data I doubt there's anywhere more reputable.
All of the friction stems from using your local currency to buy it. That's what comes with the regulatory burden and all the ID stuff. You're effectively opening a bank account and that's not possible anywhere in the world without ID.
If you resolve to never put your ID out there you're exposing yourself to much higher costs and much less choice, plus a healthy dose of risk.
If you're looking to buy drugs or gamble or whatever then yes you need to put more thought into it.