The escrow system is in place for your protection. As long as you stay in escrow, your money is safe. The moment you CHOOSE to leave that escrow system, there is nothing SR can do to protect you or offer support in cases of scams. There is NO reason to finalize early - we warn against it over and over and over again everywhere here! I'm sorry that you've lost money, but there is a relatively simple step you can take to prevent this in the future: ALWAYS STAY IN ESCROW.