Quote from: johnyj on December 09, 2014, 05:52:02 PM

Quote from: newIndia on December 09, 2014, 03:00:18 PM

Quote from: malaimult on December 09, 2014, 06:34:03 AM

Quote from: johnyj on December 09, 2014, 02:12:39 AM

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So eventually those sellers on the platform have to comply with "know your customer" rule and collect ID document from buyers. But I think localbitcoins just do escrow service, thus not directly related to money transfer, should not be regulated

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I don't think that LBC will ever force their customers to go through KYC/AML verifications with them directly for that exact reason (they are only an escrow service). It has been ruled/determined that someone running an escrow service does not qualify as a money transmitter and will not be regulated as such. The seller of bitcoin on the other hand technically is a money transmitter and should comply with KYC/AML rules, however they rarely do (AFAIK)

I think Bitcoin can be regarded as a digital commodity like eBook or MP3. If they try to force bitcoin sellers to have KYC from buyers, then these e sellers should also come under the same periphery.

Yes, in principle any kind of digital product can be used for this kind of scam (cheat someone into paying for you and get the product and disappear), since the delivery of digital product is not traceable unlike physical goods (have a physical receiving address). However, bitcoin is a financial product, it is much easier to resell than any other digital products, so it is a requirement for such kind of product to follow KYC rule

Even if the bitcoin seller collected the id document from the buyer, the real buyer (scammer) could still be another person. He could collect the id document from his victim and send it to the bitcoin seller to pass the KYC check. And the scammer could stay in another country to do this kind of scam so that he is 100% safe from law enforcement

This kind of scam makes traditional bank transfer method very risky, the only safe way is to go through mobile payment, where you can see the buyer's telephone number and sms/call him to confirm the bitcoin trade, I think this will become the trend for P2P trade in future

Why do u think traditional bank transfer method is risky ? It is time consuming and expensive, but why risky ? Because, bank transfers are mostly irreversible in nature !!! Moreover, I dont think, mobile payment is as safe as traditional online payment. One bitcoin security researcher mentioned the vulnerability of SMS in the context of 2FA...

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Anyone using SMS based 2FA is just begging to have their BTC stolen; hackers can easily social engineer your telecom to forward your number.

https://twitter.com/wiz/status/528806600941662209