Bitcoin Forum

EDIT: Cluster2k is either still directly associated with VaultMex or is in fact VaultMex himself.

Hello,

I will attempt to do this report in a proper organized fashion. If anyone has any questions or concerns regarding this matter please reach out to me.
What happened:

VaultMeX an individual operating an exchange:

www.vaultmex.com

Users of this exchange have been attempting to withdraw their cryptocurrencies for several weeks without success. VaultMeX has been using the excuse that the wallets are under maintenance, yet cannot provide information regarding which wallets or the expected time-frame of this alleged maintenance. As time passed tensions grew amongst the users who are unable to withdraw their funds and VaultMeX moderators have resorted to deleting messages and banning users in an attempt to conceal the issue. I have attached evidence in the form of screenshots to support my claims.

Amount Scammed: Personally about 0.05 Bitcoin. However, factoring in all users who cannot access their funds this number will be much higher.

Blockchain:

I am not going to dig through it and list every coin that I have deposited on this exchange. However, I will share my last transactions which involved about $100 worth of BZX.

https://chainz.cryptoid.info/bzx/address.dws?XGfL6c2TAt9dKhQWp73NwnDEvqw9zqJkxt.htm


Scammers Profile Link:

VaultMex - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2330714

Cluster2k - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=18201



Reference Link:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5051231.0

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4987019.0 (Read last two pages.)

A simple search using the search function of these forums can provide more examples.


I noticed that these two were actively deleting messages from both their Discord and from the Chatbox on their exchange. So I saved some screenshots.

https://i.imgur.com/mdSFi23.png

https://i.imgur.com/DNHttIX.png

https://i.imgur.com/iCWPUB9.png

https://i.imgur.com/Ro80cn5.png



Additional Notes:

I have contacted several organizations that currently list this exchange with the purpose of having this exchange removed. I personally was referred to this exchange through the Blockfolio iPhone application and have since requested VaultMeX be removed to prevent further victims. VaultMeX may attempt to call this blackmail but blackmail involves extortion of goods or services. Attempting to recover your own property, warning others or attempting to protect others from being defrauded does not fit this description.

Kind Regards,

-Ken

How is Cluster2k connected to VaultMeX?

Cluster2k was Community leader on discord deleting messages and banning users.

EDITED: Removed Cluster2k from scam acquisition as he voluntary stepped down from his position and clarified that he had no control or responsibility for the wallet servers.

Please remove any negative trust attributed to him.

Gotcha, thanks. I wasn't sure if the discord user is the same person, e.g. someone could create "suchmoon-VMX" on discord but that doesn't mean it's me. After some poking around I'm quite certain now.

I totally agree. The same happens to me. I was able to deposit BTC without any problems. Then i bought some Sierra and tried to withdrawl. After a certain time of „pending approvel“ the order gets canceled every time. Asking for support on several chanel’s (discord, email, chatbox, twitter) but nothing happens.
After a few more comments i got banned on discord and been blocked on Twitter.
Even i can’t write in the  chatbox at this exchange.

DONT USE VAULTMEX!!!

Vaultmex has 5-7x the withdrawal fee of any other exchange. On top of that Dodosenpai-VMX on Discord suggested that a user try withdrawing a smaller amount of coin. That seems like their way of forcing you to make more withdrawals and thus pay them more in fees. Any exchange which takes control of your coins away from you is shady and untrustworthy in my opinion.

Don't forget to click the link that I have posted to VaultMeX forum profile and submit negative feedback. It is one of the few tools we have to help prevent others from suffering this type of grief.

Thank you.

Muce requires assistance with a deposit. Poor Muce is probably just realizing his mistake.

Notice the rapid support given by VaultMex moderators when the issue is regarding a deposit being made.


https://i.imgur.com/hEBictR.png


Need support with a withdraw? No such luck my friends.


https://i.imgur.com/ziHdZGB.png

A few interesting things of note. When you try to look up the domain information for vaultmex.com they've activated whoisguard to hide the information. The registrar for the website is Namecheap and their site is hosted by Incapsula so those are two places they can be reported. The other is that I tried to make a lot of withdrawals yesterday which were pending approval for more than 16 hours. Only one went through. Then another small withdrawal I made today went through instantly, and after that none are going through again. Even if it were just their site being terrible the lack of response from the support team indicates that they don't care. The helpdesk gives no way to confirm that your ticket was submitted since the registration page doesn't allow you to create a password, and you need to log in to check ticket status.

I have looked at all those angles as well.

The Privacy Protection won't help protect them if someone decides to take legal action. It is but a small barrier and was never designed to help people commit fraud.  I know this from years of being associated with a company that had to regularly enforce infringement of their copyright material. I know at least one of them is located in Australia, so the long-arm statutes of the United States could be applied. Personally, I haven't lost enough money to pursue this option. However, it isn't that difficult in the event that someone who has lost a significant amount of capital wants to take a crack at it.


Reporting the website to the registrar and hosting company is going to be my final act if these issues are never resolved.

Looks like VaultMex has been recently active deleting their self-moderated threads.

Well, they aren't going to be able to delete this one.

Thank you Cluster2k, I did not think that you had any ill intentions because of your reputation and long-standing history here.

I just wasn't sure to the extent of your role and whether or not you had any responsibility regarding the missing funds.

I removed my negative feedback and will edit the post to exclude you. However, I might require the assistance of a moderator to edit the thread title.

Yes, I saw it when you stepped down. You guys weren't going to keep me banned because all I had to do was open a new TOR browser and pick a new username.

I hope the issues with VaultMex get resolved as well.

The server issues that you speak of only became a major concern when those issues went weeks without resolution and people started reporting funny activity with wallets in the blockchain explorers.

I am sorry that you had to leave a paying gig, but you did the right thing leaving that position because you really don't want your longstanding good reputation ruined if the situation with that exchange goes sideways.

With that said, I think your stepping down is going to expedite the situation towards whichever direction it was headed. The exchange will either disappear or VaultMex is going to fix the long-standing wallet issues.

I sincerely hope that VaultMex chooses the latter, he can learn a lesson for this and redeem his exchange. The internet is generally a forgiving community.

VaulMeX is still #1 exchange on Coincaps.ai

Your right that should definitely be removed.

However, I will give him time to either remove it or let the contract expire if that's the case.

That is reasonable as nobody should expect you to violate a contract. However, next time you enter into a contractual agreement remember to add the necessary provisions protecting the best interests of your business entities.

VaultMeX actually responded on Discord. Their message is: "Withdrawals are fine
if your withdrawals are not going through this means we are doing investigation on your accounts balances due to backend upgrades"

How "backend" upgrades relate to having to investigate accounts I'm not sure.

He has been saying it was a maintenance issue for several weeks now. The problem is that this maintenance issue never gets resolved. I hope I am wrong and we all get our coins but it doesn't seem like that is the case.

I just tried to withdraw again and it still is the same problem.

I posted this on discord earlier: "@VaultMeX What are the upgrades which require "investigating" account balances? If it's a security thing why not require 2FA and email confirmations for withdrawals? That way people can confirm their own withdrawals like every other exchange and you don't have to deal with the backlash from so many people not having access to their funds."

I checked now and it has been deleted.

It doesn't look like that anything got fixed to me. It is a real shame that someone would put effort into building an exchange just to mismanage and destroy it.

https://i.imgur.com/gTTZUjP.png

Is there any proof!?

You have removed my post from self moderated thread and locked thread after it:

..but I don't see that you have answered question:
You can do it here now.

.....and neither rondex (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=383511) or Iamnotsure (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=156442;sa=showPosts) posted anywhere since....

A few days later a VaultMex shill name of chromosoma turns up with a "review"


2015?
So busy "trading" that he didn't post for two years until borrowing some money from.....Iamnotsure (http://Iamnotsure).
Oh, and he's the only sockpuppet satisfied client in Clusterfuck's services thread.


And WTF (http://www.coincaps.ai/en/crypto-exchanges).....?

https://i.imgur.com/sQx8yab.png

Oh wow, we got a touchy one. I get a feeling that Cluster2k is the main puppetmaster in this scheme.

Is it possible that Cluster2k is VaultMex?

They paid for what? A bald faced lie?
So, you're not removing it because:
A) They paid for it
B) You're still afk
C) ?

It's starting to look that way. I'm having trouble to imagine another reason why a Legendary account would fall on the sword for this shitty exchange. Some banner ads and a ref link on a site that nobody's heard of... how much could it possibly be worth.

pretty interesting...It looks like VaultMex aka ClusterFuck scamed us!!😱

How can we confirm this either way?

I was starting to suspect this when I noticed similarities in the phrases that both of them used during conversations.

VaultMex Partners Links
 CoinCaps.ai: http://www.coincaps.ai/
MnRank.com: https://mnrank.com/
AltcoinAnn: http://www.altcoinann.com/
CryptoHashTank: https://mns.cryptohashtank.net/
 Mncn.online: https://mncn.online/  
CryptoPiece: https://cryptopiece.com/
TradersGateway: http://tradersgateway.net/

How many of these can be tied to Cluster2K?

Notice the crosslinking:

https://i.imgur.com/gTTZUjP.png

Cluster2K is acting a lot like a guilty party.  He deleted my reply to his self moderated thread where he accused Suchmoon of trust abuse (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5095474), then he locked the thread.  But, he didn't delete Cryptohunter's response to my comment, in which I was quoted (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5095474.msg49162978#msg49162978).  WTF?

Archive of the thread is here: http://archive.fo/CknSp

My deleted post:


On top of the shady behavior of promoting a project he himself admitted is scammy, he displays even more shady behavior by attempting to silence his critics.

Notice how in VaultMex's profile he also uses the term "Abuse of Trust System" when attempting to get revenge on another forum user for leaving him negative trust.

I noticed this feedback in Cluster's trust wall:

https://i.imgur.com/hgeuCCR.png

I think it is ?.

In addition to your finding


IamNotSure joined coincaps signature campaign:

But I can't find account in spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E45T0YxPYTngHK8oa4O769kijYKkQyPQPPB2zwUVMJU/edit#gid=0

https://i.imgur.com/uW6JSOJ.png

And, was active today:

https://i.imgur.com/2mG0cwF.png

In IamNotSure's lending thread http://archive.is/vYtMT rondex posted this:

But, few minutes later IamNotSure is not sure why:


------------------------


Chromosoma is interested in Cluster's domain:


Feedback on trust wall is pointing to this:
https://i.imgur.com/eFp9zo2.png

...but I don't see any records:
https://i.imgur.com/JhV4DPJ.png

--------------------

Some merit stats from https://bpip.org/

Rondex to Cluster2k:
https://i.imgur.com/LSpx6mj.png

Cluster2k and chromosoma to VaultMeX:
https://i.imgur.com/PyYC4Eq.png

IamNotSure to Cluster2K:
https://i.imgur.com/t6q0tHc.png

So it is possible that all these different accounts are the same person with the intent of manipulating the merit and trust system on this message forum to generate business?

Would a moderator be able to confirm this? I would think that a possible situation such as this should warrant an investigation by them as it strikes against the integrity of these systems put in place.

If this can be established I will edit this thread again to include the Cluster2k profile in the title of the thread.

I am fairly certain that Cluster2k is either still closely associated with or is in fact the VaultMex account as I was just banned from their discord after a heated private conversation with Cluster2k regarding this thread.

The interaction and linkages between them are outlined in previous posts: it is possible, likely imo. It is not courtroom grade proof.
Scams and abuse of trust/merit are not within moderators' remit.
His website is displaying a demonstrably false table which lists VaultMeX as the #1 crypto exchange. He refuses to edit it out. For me, that makes his website untrustworthy and by extension, him too (although I haven't left him negative trust. [yet])

Well the fact that he is obviously more concerned about the “likes” or whatever on a forum profile than he is with all the people who can’t withdraw their money from his exchange should speak volumes.

How is it right that he gets to keep bumping this self-moderated thread while continuously deleting comments regarding people not having access to their funds?


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4987019.140


All he is doing is using the traffic generated from these forums to victimize more forum members. Is there not some policy in place to protect the members of this forum from being scammed?

I guess I just don't see how it is in the best interest of these forums to allow this kind of fraudulent activity to take place.

Unfortunately, no.  Scams are not moderate to prevent moderator abuse.  The best thing to do continue to bring awareness and encourage more DT members to leave negative feed back on the trust wall of those involved.  

Can the moderators at least do something about this feedback he is leaving people?

https://i.imgur.com/xuqTG0d.png (https://imgur.com/xuqTG0d)

If not I must ask with all due respect, what is it exactly are they moderating?

If you think about it, the nonsense feedback that he is leaving rebounds on him and confirms his lack of credibility.

What is preventing him from using his many forum accounts to sabotage the trust level on another person's account?

I mean the way he did it in that image was obvious and stupid, but what is there to prevent a more systematic deliberate attempt spread out over a duration of time?

When I worked in the adult industry I spent a lot of time on GFY.com and I can tell you it is for reasons like the one I have mentioned above that multiple account offenders received bans.

His untrusted feedback (and any untrusted feedback that he may leave from alt accounts) is pretty meaningless in the great scheme of things.
There's no way to prevent, in advance, anyone doing anything  if they are determined, systematic and deliberate about it.
Using Trust Ratings improperly is a problem sometimes. The Reputation Child Board is one of the checks and balance mechanism the forum has for that, but moderators are not empowered to act (unless in extreme cases) as Theymos seems to see trust as a P2P situation.

What merits disciplinary action from moderators on these forums?

I have seen a lot of damage caused by multi-account users in my time, everything from spoofing bids during auctions to spreading or supporting false accusations.

SCENARIO ONE,

At this very moment, someone on this forum could be reading one of his self-moderated threads, full of positive feedback from his alternate forums profiles and decide to invest in one of the coins listed on VaultMex.

This user will learn that he cannot withdraw any of the assets that he invested into this exchange and after doing some research promptly learns that it is the policy of these forums to do nothing to prevent instances such as what just happened to him.

This forum member ceases using these forums as a result.


SCENARIO TWO,

A scammer learns from similar activities mentioned in the first scenario and decides to push the envelope even further, therefore, creating more instances of fraud and abuse. Other scammers see the same opportunity and proceed to advance their agenda and exploit it even further.

That's true, but it is very difficult to help people who don't help themselves at least a little bit.
Should your scenario indicate the depth of due diligence that the theoretical investor thinks adequate, then unfortunately it will only be a matter of time before he gets scammed somewhere along the line.
Search VaultMex in the forum search and critical threads are listed, search VaultMex in Google and "Scam Exchange VaultMeX!" is on this first page.
Involving moderators in any but the simplest value judgments is not practical or, to some, desirable.

I would not recommend to anyone to do research on these forums as long as there exist self-moderated threads.

When using Google to research cryptocurrency based information it is also advisable to skip over any result that is linked to these forums.

For an example a search result placement that reads "Scam Exchange VaultMeX!" means nothing if it were created by someone with a biased agenda against the exchange using a self-moderated thread option. It could just as easily say anything with nothing administrative enforcing any kind of ethical value related to business.

That is the result of the policies put in place on these forums.

A simple solution to the problems which I have stated is to disable self-moderated threads entirely. What purpose do they serve except to aid fraudulent activity or people attempting to hide something from others?

To allow reputable users to create threads free of spam and trolling.

Except its being used as a tool to defraud people.

Restrict it or make it a privilege, otherwise, it is a mistake.

I am starting to understand why cryptocurrencies in general are precived in a negative light by the general population. None of this will ever go main stream with this kind of ideology.

I apologize to this community if I being rude or overly aggressive yesterday with this discussion. I am
Just frustrated with the situation. It sucks losing any amount of money but I am glad it was less than two hundred dollars, that is the price I pay for this lesson I have learned. Judging by Cluster2k’s profile it looks like it cost him a ledgenary account, which I would place at a much higher value. I would like to thank this community for that.

thx for your effort in this case. i got scammed as well. but i will not rest to bother those guys. i keep on warning all the new community’s from coins they list on their scam Exchange.and i am sure already got pissed of.

I can confirm Vaultex is a SCAM exchange, I transferred 1000$ in btc, I've been trying to withdraw the amount but it keeps going into "pending approval" status then 4-5 hours later, the withdraw request gets canceled.

The interface is nicely designed. There are lot of coins listed. There are lot of users want to trade there. If the team would have fixed issues in the very early stage and continue with the exchange, this one should be the top priority of the many coin devs and traders to list and trade. They might have started well, but they are the ones that spoiled themselves. There are many new exchanges finding it difficult to get traders. But they have a lot of time to become a good exchange.

Hi...i just saw the Scammers opened a new page with a new account VaultMex changed to VaultMex_Support
it would be nice if everybody in here put them an Trust post on their account!
Thx a lot


not letting them come away...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5117461.0

VaultMex is a complete scam and the BitcoinZero community has had numerous users make deposits and later cannot withdraw

Sorry to hear..i am waiting since december to get my funds.🙈

they stole 1btc