Two Plus Two Newer Archives - Person to person transfers. [OP is a "MUST read", or be scammed!]

I don't have a lot of posts here because I don't think many of you could benefit from my shoddy poker advice. I am, however, a 35 year old detail-oriented OCD patient so I'm going to offer some lengthy advice on trading.

Some of this is posted in the OP but I think it's worth saying again. I'm a little worried about the attempt to basically come up with some formula that says if posts=Y + past trading history=X then trade away. I think people get a little lost because poker funds sometime seem like fake E-money, but people are sending hundreds\thousands of dollars to strangers. Some common sense is in order.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Do pay attention to registration date and post counts. These are important but they aren't the end all. Several scammers have run their post counts up very quickly.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Ask the trader to sit at a table with his bankroll. I don't think it's out of order to ask to see all of it. Even if you are just trading $100, if you see the person sit down with $2000 then you should feel a lot safer.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] If the person is a tournament player then ask for their screen names in advance. Check them on officialpokerrankings.com, thepokerdb.com, or sharkscope.com (if they are a sng player). Don't send $1000 to some guy who is an unprofitable $5 tournament player. If you see that the guy makes $2000 a month then he's probably not looking to scam you for $100.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Search for the person’s screen name in this thread. See what people have said about him. Check for the amounts, who sent first, and where the money was coming/going. Be very careful about sending large amounts to some guy who has only sent first in his previous swaps.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Don’t be afraid to ask for personal information. You don’t have to get their SS#, but ask for their full name or maybe get them to send an email from their work account if they have one.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Don’t rely on people soliciting you from an IM. Make them send you a PM so you can verify that you are dealing with the actual 2+2er.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Don’t depend on screen shots or anything that’s been copied/pasted/forwarded into an email/IM. Screen shots of someone’s account balance can be easily altered. Just because you’ve seen a transfer email pasted somewhere, that is by no means conclusive proof that your money is on its way.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Trade in increments if you feel that’s necessary. Only send large amounts if you feel VERY comfortable with your trading partner. The less you know about him, the smaller the increments should be.

Hopefully these are helpful, but it just comes down to doing your research. You don’t have to do all of them, but the more of this information you can put together the safer your money will be. If you find someone being an ass about giving you information then find someone else to trade with.

IIRC, a few weeks ago I saw guy A (new reg date/low post count) posting that he needed money moved from Stars to FT. A little later guy B posts the same thing needing FT money in exchange for Stars. Later, guy A posts that he can help out guy B HOURS AFTER SAYING THAT HE NEEDED FULL TILT MONEY. I thought to myself that I hope guy B isn’t falling for that only to log on a few hours later to see guy B posting how he’s been scammed.

Decide what you are comfortable with and do the appropriate amount of research. If you don’t find an acceptable trading partner then bite the bullet and seek out one of our well-known traders who will help you for a fee. I’d prefer that our trades benefit both parties and foster a better community, but paying the vig is a LOT better than getting your money stolen.

Lastly, after you make a successful trade please come back to the forums and make a post letting folks know. I also think it’s a good idea to put complete information in the post. Who sent first, how much was sent, in what increments, and on what sites. This will help all of us make safer decisions in the future.