I should suggest to use Localbitcoin. I tried that a couple of times and it went very smooth anytime. Just read some reviews of the seller before do the actual trade.
The guy I mentioned in the original post. The one who got his account frozen did happen to use Localbitcoins and according to him all the people he traded with had reputed accounts.
So, I don't know if 'reviews' really tell if the account changed hands. It is possible that someone bought/stole a reputed account to do illicit activities in that guy's case.
But thanks for your suggestion. I suppose reading reviews does help a little to see if the trader's been inactive for a while and that could tell if it is the original owner or not. You can always ask for his ID to check if he's the original owner of the account or not. You'd have to define these terms prior to making the trade though.