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Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Spiral Eyes on July 15, 2013, 08:38 pm

Title: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 15, 2013, 08:38 pm
Hey peeps,
  So, obviously getting btc has turned downright nasty as of late. All my go-to,  easy-peasy btc web sites are currently unavailable. Bitfloor, Bitinstant, blue Sky Traders...
 I've been seeing you guys are using localbitcoins.com, and it looks good. But it seems the only sensible payment option there for me would be dwolla, but I'm unsure how to go about doing it. Anyone have experience using dwolla on localbitcoins.com? Care to shed some light?
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: tbart on July 15, 2013, 09:50 pm
OKPay is also a good option, plus they take paypal which is where i stash my play funds
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 15, 2013, 10:29 pm
OKPay is also a good option, plus they take paypal which is where i stash my play funds

I looked into that, but they dont accept USA customers anymore.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: small time on July 15, 2013, 11:08 pm
Dwolla is pretty easy. If you already have funds in your account just find a seller that accepts Dwolla and once you place a order it will give you the sellers Dwolla ID and a code to enter in the message box. Once its paid just go back to localbitcoins and mark as paid, if you have a good seller you should have your coins released soon.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 15, 2013, 11:45 pm
Dwolla is pretty easy. If you already have funds in your account just find a seller that accepts Dwolla and once you place a order it will give you the sellers Dwolla ID and a code to enter in the message box. Once its paid just go back to localbitcoins and mark as paid, if you have a good seller you should have your coins released soon.

You da man. I'm gonna give it a go soon. Thanks a lot.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 15, 2013, 11:50 pm
I just read in another thread that Dwolla is tor friendly..  should I be using the site through tor and should I register using tormail?  I've always used real name and real info to get btc in the past. I've never really seen a cause not to.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: small time on July 16, 2013, 01:42 am
I dont see any need to, Dwolla knows who I am because I have to fund it with a bank account. I cant see how TOR would be any help. Just make sure to tumble the coins you get before sending them here.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 16, 2013, 02:04 am
Any experience with " Webmoney" ? I see it as another attractive option on there.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: tbart on July 16, 2013, 03:51 pm
this is the part about dwolla that kept me away - a) they're a US based company (Idaho) and b) being locked down by Homeland Security back in May - see the article

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57584511-38/homeland-security-cuts-off-dwolla-bitcoin-transfers/

Homeland Security cuts off Dwolla bitcoin transfers

Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirms an "ongoing investigation" that led to Dwolla cutting off bitcoin transfers to Mt. Gox.

 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed it has initiated legal action that prompted the Dwolla payment service to stop processing bitcoin transactions.

Nicole Navas, a representative for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed the legal action to CNET this afternoon.

Dwolla, a Des Moines, Iowa-based startup, which raised $16.5 million in funding two weeks ago, notified users about the move earlier Tuesday. It blamed the decision on "recent court orders" limiting its ability to send money through Mt. Gox, the largest bitcoin exchange.

"In order not to compromise this ongoing investigation being conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore, we cannot comment beyond the information in the warrant, which was filed in the District of Maryland earlier today," Navas told CNET.

Mt. Gox did not respond to questions from CNET. It did, however, post a statement to its Google+ account saying:

"   MtGox has read on the Internet that the United States Department of Homeland Security had a court order and/or warrant issued from the   United States District Court in Maryland which it served upon the Dwolla mobile payment service with respect to accounts used for trading with MtGox. We take this information seriously. However, as of this time we have not been provided with a copy of the court order and/or warrant, and do not know its scope and/or the reasons for its issuance. MtGox is investigating and will provide further reports when additional information becomes known. "

 Chris Coyne, co-founder of OkCupid, posted a screen snapshot of email he said he received from Dwolla this afternoon. It says: "Dwolla will be unable to complete your recent bank transfer [to Mt. Gox] and any future transactions."

Dwolla is not elaborating. Jordan Lampe, a company spokesman, told CNET that "Dwolla advanced the news of the seizure to Mt. Gox in under an hour of its execution. At their request, Dwolla followed up the initial communication to Mt. Gox with a copy of the warrant." Lampe said questions should be directed to Homeland Security or Mt. Gox, and refused to release a copy of the warrant.

Even though ICE's name refers to immigration and customs, the agency's actual mandate is far broader.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit boasts 7,000 special agents in 200 U.S. cities that focus on crimes including drug smuggling, financial crimes, computer crimes, and export enforcement. That has included seizing Internet domain names, targeting sports streaming sites, and arresting a student for jailbreaking game consoles.

Homeland Security declined to elaborate on the warrant or court proceedings.

Update, May 15 at 9:40 a.m. PT: Here's a copy (PDF) of the seizure warrant obtained by DHS, courtesy of Ars Technica. It was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Gauvey and seizes the contents of Mt. Gox's Dwolla account. The underlying crime that's alleged by a DHS agent is operating an "unlicensed money transmitting business." A DHS affidavit accompanying the warrant accuses Mt. Gox of opening a money-transmitting account without registering with the federal government, which makes the funds available for seizure.

this was probably the reason OKPay stopped accepting US customers

I've got to wonder how long before they take all the info on account holders and apply it to postal computers, customs computers etc to target any packages they see in the system, going to dwolla account holders, get extra scrutiny
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 18, 2013, 11:59 am
Thanks everyone for their responses. I posted in another thread last night about my experience with localbitcoins.com and want to paste it here:

 I used localbitcoins.com for the first time and couldn't be happier. I found a user with a great rating who was selling Btc via BOA cash deposit.  The amount of coin that showed up in my SR account a few hours later was exactly what I had deposited in cash. Yes that's right, I lost nothing on the transaction due to what I paid for btc and what SR valued it at. I'm not certain if I'll be able to score that kind of deal every time, but so far thats the best transaction with btc I've had. Dude was fast in his responses and quick to release the btc. One downfall is that the site gives you 90 minutes to complete the transaction ( deposit at BOA ) or it will cancel. I managed to make my deposit with only a couple minutes to spare, and when I logged on with my phone to mark order as complete, it said I missed the deadline. So I emailed vender and told him the situation and I asked if I was out my money. he said no worries it's all set and I had my coins shortly after.
  I was very skeptical of this site at first, but after spending a couple weeks trying to find new options for BTC, dam if I don't feel 100% satisfied with the outcome.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: tbart on July 18, 2013, 03:16 pm
Spiral Eyes - i just did a face-to-face localbitcoins yesterday, my first purchase actually, and it was pretty conveniennt (less than a 15 min drive, seller stayed until two confirmations showed up and cost me 5% over mot gox's quote at the time). Curious though how that BOA deposit works - are you depositing cash to the seller's acct, after he's put the coins into escrow at localbitcoin?

there's a gap in my brain on seeing what's actually taking place ?  but the BOA deposit thing could be even easier -  tks in advance
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: sclerogal on July 18, 2013, 06:05 pm
I have Dwolla account with money all setup for weeks. Everytime I try to make a purchase with bitcoin invoice  the Dwolla account on invoice is not valid or the amount is wrong.  I have yet to make a successful purchase wth Dwolla and localbitcoins.  Does anyone know what I could be doing wrong or if they are experiencing same issues.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: tbart on July 18, 2013, 07:28 pm
considering the charges levied in the article i posted above, and the fact that dwolla had not checked the "are you a money transferor" (paraphrase) box on their acct with wells fargo, and the fact that their acct was frozen by the feds in May of this year, i'd be seriously doubtful they'll be executing any transfers for awhile, if ever

i could be wrong, and it could be the feds having a chance to hang someone out as a "money launderer" isn't as appealing to them as i thought
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: bolorolo on July 18, 2013, 08:59 pm
I have Dwolla account with money all setup for weeks. Everytime I try to make a purchase with bitcoin invoice  the Dwolla account on invoice is not valid or the amount is wrong.  I have yet to make a successful purchase wth Dwolla and localbitcoins.  Does anyone know what I could be doing wrong or if they are experiencing same issues.

hey i think your problem might be that you dont need the bitcoin invoice # when you make the purchase. you just put the persons id and the amount, your pin and send

if you work with a reputable seller, they should be able to walk you through their requirements. i actually went through someone named "dwolla" and they were great
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: sclerogal on July 19, 2013, 12:42 am
I also found out from another locabitcoins user that there Dwolla account got frozen since thy were using it for peer to peer transactions.
Title: Re: Dwolla and Localbitcoins.com
Post by: Spiral Eyes on July 19, 2013, 03:22 am
Spiral Eyes - i just did a face-to-face localbitcoins yesterday, my first purchase actually, and it was pretty conveniennt (less than a 15 min drive, seller stayed until two confirmations showed up and cost me 5% over mot gox's quote at the time). Curious though how that BOA deposit works - are you depositing cash to the seller's acct, after he's put the coins into escrow at localbitcoin?

there's a gap in my brain on seeing what's actually taking place ?  but the BOA deposit thing could be even easier -  tks in advance

From a stand back and look perspective, my transaction was pretty much exactly like blue sky and bitfloor before it.. place an order, then go to BOA and deposit cash into seller account. Once I place my order with seller, I believe the btc is automatically put into escrow. Once I deposit , I must then go to website and mark as complete. Once seller sees it is complete, he releases btc. Thats my newb understanding anyway. In my case, I was pressed for time and barely made it to bank in time for deposit. I was apparently a minute or two late to mark it as complete. I now know that time limits are set by seller, not the site. I contacted seller and he told me not to worry, it was good to go.
    So process looks like this:  sign up for localbitcoins.com. You can buy online, or meet in person. You can also sell. For me, its 2 hours to meet closest seller. fuck that. I like cash deposit. Find pay method suitable to you. Click to buy, follow instructions.
   The buying landscape changes frequently. The offer I found from the seller I bought from, was not available this morning when I looked. These are individuals, not big business like bitbullshit, I mean bitinstant. The deals will change. I'd imagine that if you had some buying power behind you, you could work out bulk deals eventually.
  So far I like it. But as of now there's like 2 sellers I'd deal with, due to value and method of payment. I refuse to pay $10-15 more per coin than they are valued. I'm not desperate . I'd like to know more about webmoney. My man Tbart already talked me out of dwolla, as horny as I was about it initially. That was great info tbart. Many thanks.