1. An electronic communications method between a first and a second party, with assistance from at least a trusted party, enabling an electronic transaction in which the first party has a message for the second party, comprising the steps of: having the first party transmit to the trusted party a custom version of the message intelligible to the second party but not by the trusted party; in response, having the trusted party verify that the first party transmitted the custom version of the message and that the second party is the intended recipient thereof; having the trusted party transmit to the second party information that identifies the first party and from which the second party can retrieve the message; and having the trusted party transmit to the first party a sending receipt indicating that the message has been transmitted to the second party; wherein at least one of the transmissions is carried out electronically and the first party does not communicate an encryption of the message directly to the second party to facilitate said electronic transaction.