I think the account status doesn’t matter much, it’s the nature of the transaction that’s important. Even if an account has been dormant, as long as the transaction favors both parties (for example, if the dormant user is willing to use a trusted escrow), then both sides should be safe, and the account itself isn’t a major concern.
However, based on what I’ve read in the terms, there’s a huge risk here since they didn’t use an escrow…
It doesn't state that there'd be a use of an escrow much less a trusted one in the op so that's the issue. You can't just decide that after a long time of being away you can back and start trading. If I were the user, I would have tried to acclimate myself with the forum anew and not start up with the manner in which he did cause that would only scream one thing; scammer! And instead of getting the desired results of people showing interest, it's the other way round: people running away from you like a red flag.