<p>Bitcoin is focused on assuring that the <em>payment</em> is legit.  It doesn't help at all with the <em>payer</em>.</p>

<p>Waiting for confirmations gives you very strong assurance that the payment is genuine and final, and that neither the payer nor any outside authority can do anything to reverse it.  The money is yours, full stop.  There are no chargebacks.</p>

<p>However, you don't get <em>any</em> verification of the payer's identity.  There are no names attached to Bitcoins, only addresses which are effectively anonymous.  (Theoretically there are ways one can try to trace a Bitcoin address back to the person who holds it, but it's unlikely that you'll want to devote the necessary time and resources, and you chances of success are still pretty slim.)</p>

<p>So if someone pays you in Bitcoin for an account which they then use to spam, you can cancel their account and keep their money, but you have basically no other recourse.  You probably won't be able to find them to send nasty letters or pursue legal action or call the police.</p>

<p>Of course, along the lines of "keep their money", you could require Bitcoin customers to put down a large deposit, which you keep if they abuse your system.  However, this could discourage legitimate customers, who now just have to trust that you will return their deposit as promised if they behave; by the same token as above, they have very little recourse if you don't.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-03T14:51:46.847Z
So basically it's NO as per the structure of bitcoins.Obviously,we immediately cancel and refund as soon as we find any spamming activity however the initial security layer of payment gateway become helpful to avoid spammers. For an instance, 2checkout manages the history of stolen credit card and associated identity before they mark payment as verified. Anyways, thanks for the answer, Nate :)
Mitesh Gangaramani
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-30T05:52:34.237Z
2016-07-30T18:35:25.503Z
2016-07-30T18:35:25.503Z
Nate Eldredge
<p>Basically, we are webhosting company and accepting payments through Paypal and 2checkout currently.  Due to risk of service being used for spamming,we manually review orders after payment gateway verifies payment and card owner identity. Likewise, 2checkout verifies payer's identity and history of fraud/stolen card associated with it than mark payment as verified.</p>

<p>We want to start accepting bitcoin but as per my initial research I am afraid with the risk of misuse of service.I know the bitcoin's main advantage is that you don't need to provide any identification which is stopping me to add it as payment gateway.</p>

<p>As far as i researched, blockchain verifies transactions on the basis of # number of confirmations which is correct to legitimate the payment. I believe this verifies the source of bitcion and spendability of it.</p>

<p><strong>Question :</strong> <strong>are there any other aspects in blockchain's "fraud management system" which can assure merchants that payer is legit?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-30T20:33:34.370Z
Can you explain what you mean by "payer is legit"? What exactly are you trying to avoid?
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-03T14:55:30.450Z
@David, I have covered it on comment of Nate's answer.
Mitesh Gangaramani
<blockchain><coinbase.com><merchants><fraud><identity>
What exactly does the "fraud management system" of blockchain checks?
Mitesh Gangaramani
# What exactly does the "fraud management system" of blockchain checks?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-30)

Basically, we are webhosting company and accepting payments through Paypal and 2checkout currently. Due to risk of service being used for spamming,we manually review orders after payment gateway verifies payment and card owner identity. Likewise, 2checkout verifies payer's identity and history of fraud/stolen card associated with it than mark payment as verified.

We want to start accepting bitcoin but as per my initial research I am afraid with the risk of misuse of service.I know the bitcoin's main advantage is that you don't need to provide any identification which is stopping me to add it as payment gateway.

As far as i researched, blockchain verifies transactions on the basis of # number of confirmations which is correct to legitimate the payment. I believe this verifies the source of bitcion and spendability of it.

**Question :** **are there any other aspects in blockchain's "fraud management system" which can assure merchants that payer is legit?**

**Tags:** blockchain, coinbase.com, merchants, fraud, identity

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Can you explain what you mean by "payer is legit"? What exactly are you trying to avoid?  
> **username_0**: @David, I have covered it on comment of Nate's answer.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-30. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Bitcoin is focused on assuring that the *payment* is legit. It doesn't help at all with the *payer*.

Waiting for confirmations gives you very strong assurance that the payment is genuine and final, and that neither the payer nor any outside authority can do anything to reverse it. The money is yours, full stop. There are no chargebacks.

However, you don't get *any* verification of the payer's identity. There are no names attached to Bitcoins, only addresses which are effectively anonymous. (Theoretically there are ways one can try to trace a Bitcoin address back to the person who holds it, but it's unlikely that you'll want to devote the necessary time and resources, and you chances of success are still pretty slim.)

So if someone pays you in Bitcoin for an account which they then use to spam, you can cancel their account and keep their money, but you have basically no other recourse. You probably won't be able to find them to send nasty letters or pursue legal action or call the police.

Of course, along the lines of "keep their money", you could require Bitcoin customers to put down a large deposit, which you keep if they abuse your system. However, this could discourage legitimate customers, who now just have to trust that you will return their deposit as promised if they behave; by the same token as above, they have very little recourse if you don't.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So basically it's NO as per the structure of bitcoins.Obviously,we immediately cancel and refund as soon as we find any spamming activity however the initial security layer of payment gateway become helpful to avoid spammers. For an instance, 2checkout manages the history of stolen credit card and associated identity before they mark payment as verified. Anyways, thanks for the answer, Nate :)  

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