Yes, you got scammed. With bitcoin and SR you've got to do your due diligence or you'll make mistakes you'll regret later.FYI: You should be either:A: Using OTC exchangers with good reputations to turn cash into bitcoin. e.g. local bitcoins, bitcoin-otc and others like them.B: Buying bitcoin on a normal exchange and then using a BTC laundering mechanism so they are unlinkable.The best thing is to do both, although not everybody will feel it's worth it due to the time/money costs. If you buy bitcoin in cash OTC and then put it through a BTC laundering process it is stratospherically unlikely that your SR purchase will be linked to you via bitcoin.1. Buying from random people without reputations is a bad idea.2. Buying from an exchange like MtGox and spending it on SR therefore potentially linking your identity to a bitcoin -> SR purchase is a bad idea. Then you're just making life about a billion times easier for the federal government.The important thing is to understand Bitcoin can trivially be traced. It's not inherently anonymously, it's anonymous if you use it correctly. Same deal as with PGP really.