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Economy => Service Discussion => Topic started by: faille on January 14, 2013, 10:13:14 PM



Title: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: faille on January 14, 2013, 10:13:14 PM
I've been mining bitcoins and then trading them on mtgox for while but slowly gave up on it. Finally last month I decided that since I wasn't doing anything with it, I would cash out, especially since xmas was approaching. I sold my coins and withdraw the cash to a bank account, having to do it twice over 2 days to avoid their daily limits.

Well, now it's a month later and still no sign of my money. I just get messages from them saying that my transfer is being processed and they'll keep my informed. Sorry, but a month is way too long to process a transfer so I can only assume they've just taken the money and stringing along bullshit. Can anyone else confirm that this is what they are now doing?


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: repentance on January 14, 2013, 10:19:52 PM
What method were you using for the withdrawal - it tends to make a difference with MtGox.  Also, they did put a notice on their website advising the period where there would be minimal staffing over the holidays (24 December to 7 January), so you need to take that period into account - it's likely they had a backlog of withdrawals to process when they went back to work after the holidays.

Bear in mind that structuring transactions to avoid limits will often flag a transaction for AML investigation, too.



Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: faille on January 14, 2013, 10:25:54 PM
I did the withdraw early in December to try and avoid the xmas rush and the dowintime they posted but seems to have made no difference.
The method was a transfer directly into a bank account.

A few days delay I can understand but when it's going over a month then I start to think that things are a little fishy.



Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: davout on January 14, 2013, 10:30:30 PM
I think you used the magic words to summon mtgox's natalie.

(A Japanese Natalie somehow always makes me think about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8oytatiahQ)


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Maria on January 15, 2013, 12:11:17 AM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: nebulus on January 15, 2013, 12:19:34 AM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Please provide evidence.  :D


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: EuSouBitcoin on January 15, 2013, 12:30:33 AM
If you don't like the service at Mt Gox, the solution is simple, trade on another exchange. For a list of other exchanges see
http://www.bitcoincharts.com/markets/


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Mt.Gox_Alex on January 17, 2013, 07:15:38 AM
I've been mining bitcoins and then trading them on mtgox for while but slowly gave up on it. Finally last month I decided that since I wasn't doing anything with it, I would cash out, especially since xmas was approaching. I sold my coins and withdraw the cash to a bank account, having to do it twice over 2 days to avoid their daily limits.

Well, now it's a month later and still no sign of my money. I just get messages from them saying that my transfer is being processed and they'll keep my informed. Sorry, but a month is way too long to process a transfer so I can only assume they've just taken the money and stringing along bullshit. Can anyone else confirm that this is what they are now doing?


Hi

Can you provide me your Ticker Number that I can have a look at the situation and see what can be done?


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: farlack on January 17, 2013, 07:25:55 AM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Hmm if this were true, wouldn't that mean that 21,000,000 bitcoins would not be the maximum coins in circulation? All he would have to do is replace fake coins to cover withdrawals but the funds that are sitting storage are funding the replacements unknown to the holder since coins are just sitting. The only way anyone would find out is if 100% of coins were taken out.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Kluge on January 17, 2013, 07:56:22 AM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Hmm if this were true, wouldn't that mean that 21,000,000 bitcoins would not be the maximum coins in circulation? All he would have to do is replace fake coins to cover withdrawals but the funds that are sitting storage are funding the replacements unknown to the holder since coins are just sitting. The only way anyone would find out is if 100% of coins were taken out.
(mods might want to make a separate thread on this, since we're OT)
I wondered about this a few days ago. GoxBTC is NOT BTC, but a debt-note. It's effectively a redeemable coupon for the amount of BTC listed. Gox doesn't necessarily need to have the reserves. They could use fractional reserve practices to use the BTC for whatever they please. By issuing debt-notes (GoxBTC or GoxUSD, of course with USD itself being a debt-note), Gox can sometimes seem more like a bank than merely an exchange. Aside perhaps the law, there's no reason Gox couldn't just issue $100k GoxUSD and cash it out on one of the exchanges which automatically accept the vouchers. Gox could then cash out the "AurumUSD" (or whatever) for "real" USD or "real" BTC as Maria suggested.

It's almost "too" powerful for an exchange to be able to issue currency and have it widely trusted and accepted within a community. I'm not sure what kind of safeguards are in place, but it'd be nice to hear more from Mark & team about what kind of systems are in place to prevent Mark from doing exactly what Maria accused. When lending, GoxBTC or GoxUSD was extremely convenient, fast, and free for loan payments. It was preferred over "real" USD or BTC because it was so frequently converted (and because GoxUSD transfers are internationally both free and instant, which is virtually impossible to get anywhere else). It is a superior solution, IMO, to "real" USD, and also has its advantages over "real" BTC. That centralization's more dangerous than an untamed fire-spitting dragon which makes millions of spikes fall randomly from the sky, though. (possibly exaggeration)


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Luno on January 17, 2013, 08:32:23 AM
MtGox have had the exchange market to itself for some time. Intersango accepting GBP again should up the competition if they can run a thight ship this time. As Gox is a "regular business" tax vise, money taken out, out of the blue will show up in the books and will have to be explained to a Japanese taxman.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: twolifeinexile on January 17, 2013, 03:36:00 PM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Hmm if this were true, wouldn't that mean that 21,000,000 bitcoins would not be the maximum coins in circulation? All he would have to do is replace fake coins to cover withdrawals but the funds that are sitting storage are funding the replacements unknown to the holder since coins are just sitting. The only way anyone would find out is if 100% of coins were taken out.
(mods might want to make a separate thread on this, since we're OT)
I wondered about this a few days ago. GoxBTC is NOT BTC, but a debt-note. It's effectively a redeemable coupon for the amount of BTC listed. Gox doesn't necessarily need to have the reserves. They could use fractional reserve practices to use the BTC for whatever they please. By issuing debt-notes (GoxBTC or GoxUSD, of course with USD itself being a debt-note), Gox can sometimes seem more like a bank than merely an exchange. Aside perhaps the law, there's no reason Gox couldn't just issue $100k GoxUSD and cash it out on one of the exchanges which automatically accept the vouchers. Gox could then cash out the "AurumUSD" (or whatever) for "real" USD or "real" BTC as Maria suggested.

It's almost "too" powerful for an exchange to be able to issue currency and have it widely trusted and accepted within a community. I'm not sure what kind of safeguards are in place, but it'd be nice to hear more from Mark & team about what kind of systems are in place to prevent Mark from doing exactly what Maria accused. When lending, GoxBTC or GoxUSD was extremely convenient, fast, and free for loan payments. It was preferred over "real" USD or BTC because it was so frequently converted (and because GoxUSD transfers are internationally both free and instant, which is virtually impossible to get anywhere else). It is a superior solution, IMO, to "real" USD, and also has its advantages over "real" BTC. That centralization's more dangerous than an untamed fire-spitting dragon which makes millions of spikes fall randomly from the sky, though. (possibly exaggeration)

Well said that GoxUSD is actually a Note, and this is similar as all traditional banks, so chase dollars should be ChsUSD instead of FrnUSD, etc. Guess GoxUSD is not FDIC insured though.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: BlackLilac Jordan on January 19, 2013, 03:05:08 PM
MTGox has always worked great for us, and our account isn't even verified. International wire transfers arrive 3-5 days after being requested every time. Hopefully people with horror stories are the exception.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: URSAY on January 20, 2013, 04:39:10 PM
GOXXXED AGAIN.  They never learn.   ???


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: twolifeinexile on January 22, 2013, 01:14:27 PM
GOXXXED AGAIN.  They never learn.   ???
What happened?


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Mt.Gox_Alex on January 23, 2013, 06:36:44 AM
Just wanted to drop an update on the situation.

We had a small glitch that needed to be found and fixed in order to process some wires in Australia, the bug is now fixed and customers affected should get their fund shortly.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on January 30, 2013, 07:35:46 AM
does anyone here think MtGox would jeprodise their much vaulted position considering the current price  :D i didnt think so


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Mt.Gox_Support_Natalie on February 01, 2013, 10:32:26 AM
I think you used the magic words to summon mtgox's natalie.

(A Japanese Natalie somehow always makes me think about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8oytatiahQ)

Hi,

Wow, I grew up watching that series as well. 


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Mt.Gox_Support_Natalie on February 01, 2013, 10:35:02 AM
Hello,

Please let me inform you that all domestic AUD withdrawals have now been processed.  The fee is 10 AUD/transaction.  Should you have any other queries, please contact us at the Support Desk.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 11, 2013, 08:33:04 AM
MTGox has always worked great for us, and our account isn't even verified. International wire transfers arrive 3-5 days after being requested every time. Hopefully people with horror stories are the exception.

sadly i don't think so just people too afraid to say the company is dirt i guess it looks bad on your username but too me anyone willing to say the truth and explain the company for what it is at face value is of very commendable stature as long as they explain it properly


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 11, 2013, 08:36:52 AM
Hello,

Please let me inform you that all domestic AUD withdrawals have now been processed.  The fee is 10 AUD/transaction.  Should you have any other queries, please contact us at the Support Desk.

get your act together is my advice and stop stuffing my friend around with your misguided verification deposit process and fake/questionable live chat support


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 11, 2013, 09:34:57 AM
I've been mining bitcoins and then trading them on mtgox for while but slowly gave up on it. Finally last month I decided that since I wasn't doing anything with it, I would cash out, especially since xmas was approaching. I sold my coins and withdraw the cash to a bank account, having to do it twice over 2 days to avoid their daily limits.

Well, now it's a month later and still no sign of my money. I just get messages from them saying that my transfer is being processed and they'll keep my informed. Sorry, but a month is way too long to process a transfer so I can only assume they've just taken the money and stringing along bullshit. Can anyone else confirm that this is what they are now doing?


Hi

Can you provide me your Ticker Number that I can have a look at the situation and see what can be done?

are you required to verify before depositing funds ? has live chat ever worked / experienced down time ?

why would you give out your bank details to customers before making sure they would be accepted into their trading accounts ?


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 11, 2013, 12:06:52 PM
with a possible 23 day wait to deposit $50 us dollars and handing over so much identification they virtually have your GPS co-ordinates

when they initially promise 3-5 business days and no verification

are they scammers or just scammers ?



Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 12, 2013, 07:48:10 AM
scammers hehe really they are do not trust this company one bit they use pre-written english scripts to try to fool you

they don't answer any of your questions directly because they do not know English

and they pretend to have live chat support when they do not have any at all!!!!!!!!


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: kooke on May 16, 2013, 02:22:50 AM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Things are not looking good for that Karpeles guy at all: http://rt.com/usa/bitcoin-exchange-seized-crackdown-begins-334


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Bitcoinpro on February 15, 2014, 03:10:13 PM
they are almost definately scammers


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Luno on February 19, 2014, 04:18:01 PM
they are almost definately scammers

Liars for sure, but a scammer is one that intentionally takes peoples money never intending to pay them back.

I think MT.Gox had most of their $$ deposits 2012 early 2013, price then gone up 20 fold. Holy shit! we can't possible pay them all back (law suits or not)! Better to lie and withhold payouts with lame excuses.

It would be preferable if MT.Gox had a substantial backer or large credit with a bank, But we don't really approve of  that do we?

I think that there is an understanding that Gox might withhold and stall $$ withdrawals it that case, but restricting Bitcoin withdrawals breaks the system, the only reason they might do that is if they have debt! If that's the case they would have spend the last month or earlier, liquidating their costumers BTC and that would be visible on other exchanges and they then would also be in trouble and we would have a massive crash by now.

So what the fuck is going on? I don't think Mark could pull this off alone. Finish this line of thought yourself, the Bitcoin elite is small!!!


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Amitabh S on March 13, 2014, 01:34:41 PM
HUGE SCAMMER!

Kept my money hostage, wanted me to comply with KYC documents when no one on my legal firm knows who the fuck is Mark Karpeles and why does he need my documents for bitcoin trading.

But the real scam Mr MagicalTux pulls off in front of everybody is this.

MagicalTux has an account in mtgox, He sporadically adds balance to his account by going directly into tje Mysql database and adding the value.


He then generates a Mtgox code and CASHES the code Via AurumXchange or The Other Site.

He effectively pulls off the same exact scam The FED and Bernanke pulls on you and your savings.

Good news, he will soon be arrested.

Maria.

Can we verify this from the leaked database?


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: btcusury on March 13, 2014, 08:12:18 PM
I don't think we can verify it, but have a look at this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=513100.0

The 3rd largest account by balance, which has exactly 19,985 BTC, has an 'Index' of 4, which might mean that this is a MtGox insider account.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: kooke on March 14, 2014, 06:21:35 AM
lol, this thread is actually the reason I stopped using mtgox :)


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: Kluge on March 14, 2014, 07:13:45 AM
lol, this thread is actually the reason I stopped using mtgox :)
I think, more than anything now that I'm looking back at "historical events" in BTC space, I'm going to consider closed-source implementations and closed accounting to be a flat-out black flag until regulation's in place which demands opening books, at least to government officials (though that'd still be a crappy-enough solution to be a red flag). Nobody should be allowed to take custodianship over anything of value of anyone else without open books; I'm convinced of that, now, and I won't use anything not complying with something so fundamental to the zero-trust concept irreversible currency demands.


Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: clownius on March 14, 2014, 12:35:13 PM
Proof of this sort of thing would be gold and could actually prove fraud and possibly make peoples personal wealth fair game in bankruptcy proceedings.  Sadly we never seem to get proof just random posters with conspiracy theories.



Title: Re: Are MtGox scammers?
Post by: kooke on March 14, 2014, 04:24:05 PM
I think, more than anything now that I'm looking back at "historical events" in BTC space, I'm going to consider closed-source implementations and closed accounting to be a flat-out black flag until regulation's in place which demands opening books, at least to government officials (though that'd still be a crappy-enough solution to be a red flag). Nobody should be allowed to take custodianship over anything of value of anyone else without open books; I'm convinced of that, now, and I won't use anything not complying with something so fundamental to the zero-trust concept irreversible currency demands.

You've hit the nail on the head with your post. There's no way to know how close these services are to imploding with their lack absence of transparency. I think trading on any of the exchanges right now is akin to walking alone on thin ice in the middle of nowhere.