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Unfortunately, we can not assist you at this point. We will investigate this issue and return to you when it is resolved.

     Unfortunately, we can not assist you regarding this issue since we are investigating. We will notify you as soon as it is resolved.

Request #15585
Account inaccessible (username "zweiblum", email: zbmtgox@_____.de)

<RealName hidden>
Nov-25 02:56

Hi,

since I uploaded the documents you required for authentication about a
week ago, my account (username "zweiblum", email: zbmtgox@_____.de) is
inaccessible. In practice this means that my username/password
combination is rejected and that the "I forgot my password" form results
in a blak page and no password being sent.

Please reactivate the access to my account and give me access to the
money I deposited!

Thanks a lot,
<RealName hidden>

    smime.p7s smime.p7s

 
Comments
User photo
Mt.Gox Support
Support Desk

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us. May we ask if you recently made a Dwolla deposit? Can you please verify whether your Dwolla account is a US one or not?

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Nov-25 2011 09:45
<RealName hidden>

    Hi,

    I initiated my last Dwolla deposit on 10/25/2011, this Dwolla account is US based because I have been in the US until August 2011.

    Thanks,
    <RealName hidden>

Nov-25 2011 16:01
User photo
Mt.Gox Support
Support Desk

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us. In response to increased incidence of phishing and hacking attempts made against Mt.Gox and its users, stricter security precautions have been implemented to protect our users and their funds. Should suspicious activity be detected in relation to an Mt.Gox account, the ability to withdraw funds will be temporarily suspended until it can be confirmed that the owner of the account is in fact still in control. Please login onto the Mt.Gox page and visit https://www.mtgox.com/forms/verification to start the identification process.

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Nov-25 2011 16:04
<RealName hidden>

    Hi,

    as I mentioned in my first email, I ready submitted the verification
    forms (that was when the trouble started...). An I am still getting the
    error

    "Invalid username or password, please try again. "

    although I am using the same username/password as before.

    Please reactivate the access to my account and give me access to the
    money I deposited!

    Thanks,
<RealName hidden>
        smime.p7s smime.p7s

Nov-25 2011 20:19
Mt.Gox Support
Support Desk

    Hello,

    Unfortunately, we can not assist you at this point. We will investigate this issue and return to you when it is resolved.

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Nov-28 2011 11:15

Request #15736
Account compromised? username: zweiblum

<RealName hidden>
Nov-29 09:06

Hi,

after submitting the verification documentation my account is inaccessible (cannot login, password rejected) and I do not receive the password recovery emails if I request them. Any chance my account has been hijacked? Why don't I receive the emails to set a new password?

original email on file for this account: zbmtgox@_____.de
username: zweiblum

This issue is related to the closed ticket #15585.

Thanks,
<RealName hidden>

Request #16053 follow-up to request #15585
Re: Account inaccessible (username "zweiblum", email: zbmtgox@_____.de)

<RealName hidden>
Dec-04 20:30

Dear Sir or Madam,

I still cannot access my account. I deposited US$ 220 on 10/25/2011 and I was asked to submit verification documents shortly afterwards. After doing so, my account became inaccessible (username/password no longer accepted). When I request a new password, I do not receive any password recovery emails. $200 is a large amount of money to me and I ask you to release this money and to reestablish the access to my account.

What I find most frustrating is that I did not receive any kind of explanation why I am refused access to my account.

Thanks,
<RealName hidden>
 
Mt.Gox Support
Support Desk

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us. Can you please provide me with your account username so I can look in to this for you?

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Dec-05 2011 11:48
<RealName hidden>

    Hi,

    the username is "zweiblum". The email address associated with this account is zbmtgox@_____.de.

    Thanks,
<RealName hidden>

Dec-05 2011 16:28

Mt.Gox Support
Support Desk

    Hello <RealName hidden>,

    Unfortunately, we can not assist you regarding this issue since we are investigating. We will notify you as soon as it is resolved.

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Dec-06 2011 12:17

   Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us. May we ask if you recently made a Dwolla deposit? Can you please verify whether your Dwolla account is a US one or not?

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Nov-25 2011 09:45
<RealName hidden>

    Hi,

    I initiated my last Dwolla deposit on 10/25/2011, this Dwolla account is US based because I have been in the US until August 2011.

    Thanks,
    <RealName hidden>

Had you been in the U.S. at the time the Dwolla funds were deposited through the time they were transferred to Mt. Gox?

This is really quite a reasonable precaution on their end to lock out a German IP address from an account linked with a US-based Dwolla account.

This is interesting.  I've never had this kind of results with MtGox. They have been very supportive.

A while back I made a deposit for $100 at my local bank to be credited to my MtGox account.  When it was credited, they made a mistake and credited $200.  I quickly emailed them and pointed out the error.  They emailed me back and told me to keep the extra $100.  I call that great service.

You can see a screen shot of the email from them at: http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx35/plogank/Deposit.jpg

Hope you get your problem resolved.

I agree that the fact that I changed countries might raise some suspicion. However, we are living in the 21st century and people are traveling. This does not justify to block access to an account without explanation for such a long time.

That's awesome, honest and amazing that you reported this.

What's scary is their response: "Please keep the extra $100"

How many people haven't reported surplus deposits? Where is the "extra" money coming from? The OP's issue likely stems from poor systems and management giving away too much money. Incredible.

What's really scary to me is how quickly people put a negative spin on things.  This is not the only negative response I've had when I shared this information.

What's really scary to me is how quickly people put a negative spin on things.  This is not the only negative response I've had when I shared this information.

You see it as, hey great customer service. I see it as a system that is poorly automated, and fraught with human error. They make enough money that they don't sweat the small stuff, and that is cool and all, but I am always wondering if it will come to light that their errors mean that they do not actually have as much in the way of bitcoins or cash to meet the balances in their accounts.

Things I have seen
* The major hack which they "rolled back." How much they lost is unknown.
* Large pools of money they shift around between single addresses (suggesting to me a human activity rather than an automated bitcoin management system)
* The time they sent a large sum of bitcoins into oblivion (I forget how much)
* These errors where people are credited extra

Maybe they make enough profit per transactions that money slipping through the cracks is no big deal, but if they don't a run on the bank is a possibility.

Maybe, maybe not.  Why not give them the benefit of the doubt?  I don't see any reason to badmouth them or spread fear about them when there isn't any proof to back up what you are saying...  It seems overly paranoid and over the top, in my opinion.

Haha, seriously.  Everyone's so glass-half-empty around here, it's amazing.

I suppose you are right. It is just one consideration people should have when dealing with an exchange.

I simply am listing the issues that have come up on the board, and note that if the errors outstrip their profits than their balance sheet will not line up, hence the possibility of a run.

@plogank was wondering how this could be spun negatively. If I saw my bank making mistakes that made it lose money, I would pull my money out, especially if it wasn't backed by something like FDIC protection.

I don't know if I would call this bad mouthing. I am just voicing a concern that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. Really I think that mtgox does quite well for itself with all of the volume, and most likely it's profits make for a balanced budget. But I also wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong in this assumption.

In other words: I reserve the right at some unknown (maybe non-existant) date to say "I told you so."

I have the benefit of never being able to be proved wrong :)

They receive much more benefit from continuing their operations as-is ($2000-$5000/day) than they would from stealing everyone's funds without reporting it and turning into some sort of fractional-reserve that will eventually go bust.

Yeah, I hear what you're saying.  I guess I just feel like *most* people would operate a company in a reasonable, sustainable way.  I feel like MtGox has been around long enough that they have proven they aren't a group of scammers.  And if that is the case, they receive no benefit from running their company into the ground by using more money than they are gaining.  They receive much more benefit from continuing their operations as-is ($2000-$5000/day) than they would from stealing everyone's funds without reporting it and turning into some sort of fractional-reserve that will eventually go bust.

I'll PM Adam to see if he can take a look into this case, and hopefully provide a better explanation. (Other MtGox folks are free to respond, of course!)

Yeah, I hear what you're saying.  I guess I just feel like *most* people would operate a company in a reasonable, sustainable way.  I feel like MtGox has been around long enough that they have proven they aren't a group of scammers.  And if that is the case, they receive no benefit from running their company into the ground by using more money than they are gaining.  They receive much more benefit from continuing their operations as-is ($2000-$5000/day) than they would from stealing everyone's funds without reporting it and turning into some sort of fractional-reserve that will eventually go bust.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to discuss details about the account "zweiblum" on a public forum. We have left some feedback in your ticket.

I think Maged my be over-optimistic in thinking we'll get any kind of meaningful answer out of Mt Gox. In similar previous cases they've done things like make vague insinuations that the user is a criminal with no actual details given to anyone, including said user (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=53661.msg642862#msg642862).

Thank you to Maged who gave me a heads up on this issue.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to discuss details about the account "zweiblum" on a public forum. We have left some feedback in your ticket.

   Hi [Real Name removed],

    I'll be to the point - we could not verify the authenticity of the documents you submitted, and thus have banned your account in the interim while we investigate.

    We know that you've been patient to get access to these funds, but realistically we won't be able to give an update (or release the funds) until we have proved the authenticity of your documents.

    We will get back to you in early January with an update.

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Dec-23 2011 16:00
User photo
[Real Name removed]

    Hi Adam thanks for your reply. Can I submit you anything else that would be easier to check?

Dec-23 2011 16:09
User photo
Adam
Mt.Gox

    Hi [Real Name removed],

    Thank you for your cooperation. Yes, if you would kindly mail us a notarized copy of the documents you submitted, it would help speed things up greatly.

    Our address is:

    AML - Tibanne Co. Ltd.
    26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho
    Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
    150-8512

    Once we have received the documents we will be able to give you access to your account.

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Dec-23 2011 16:52
User photo

[Real Name removed]

    Hi Adam,

    notarizing and shipping these documents will cost me around €20, which is more than 10% of the value of the money in my account. Is MtGox willing to refund these expenses?

    Another suggestion I have is that you convert the bitcoins in my account (should not be much more than the $220 deposited in October from Dwolla) back to USD and transfer them back to the Dwolla account where they came from. This seems like a cost efficient and relatively fraud-proof alternative to me. What do you think?

    Thanks,
    [Real Name removed]

Dec-23 2011 18:54
User photo
Adam
Mt.Gox

    Hi [Real Name removed],

    Sorry for the delay. Do you have another proof of residence you can show us that is different from the last?

    Thanks,

    MtGox.com Team

Jan-05 2012 13:02
User photo
[Real Name removed]

    Hi,

    as I pay my utilities as a flat rate with my rent I do not have any
    utility bills (I sent you my lease agreement before, if I remember it
    right). However, I attached a payment letter from my employer and
    different letters from different insurance companies, my bank, the
    Fulbright Commission and social security that all show my current address.

    Hope that helps! Thanks,
    [Real Name removed]
        proof_of_residiency_0.png proof_of_residiency_0.png (quick view)
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Jan-05 2012 17:05

 

Here is just an off-the-wall idea: if you're legit, why don't you just use an overnight courier to send the original documents to MtGox so they can inspect them by hand, and trust that they will return them.

"But I don't want MtGox keeping my passport!"

They probably won't.  And if you came in here and convinced us that they did, we'd shame them for it.

This is what I would do before I would bother with a $90 notary service (that also required me to send my passport somewhere and trust its return).

Horribly irresponsible suggestion is horribly irresponsible. Never let your passport out of your sight, much less trust it to an organization that is notorious for lack of communication.

Horribly irresponsible suggestion is horribly irresponsible.

Never let your passport out of your sight, much less trust it to an organization that is notorious for lack of communication and explanations for blatant and obvious disregard for customers.

That said, I don't see why if the source of the $220 is known, that it can't just be returned to where it came.  It's $220, not exactly the pinnacle of money laundering.  Anyone at MtGox care to explain what kind of concern would result in a conclusion that $220 can't be returned to its sender?

That said, I don't see why if the source of the $220 is known, that it can't just be returned to where it came.  It's $220, not exactly the pinnacle of money laundering.

Anyone at MtGox care to explain what kind of concern would result in a conclusion that $220 can't be returned to its sender?

Topping this - regardless of what the answer is, I'd really like to know.

After a conversation in IRC, I was essentially told by magicaltux that they believe the Dwolla account that funded the account is likely hacked/compromised and that they are anticipating a chargeback on the funds.

I'm pretty sure everyone else assumed so as well. That doesn't explain why sending the money back to Dwolla wouldn't have been much better than just holding it for their own benefit.

If someone hands me a credit card and I believe it to be stolen, I still have to give it back. I can however inform the police and the credit card company. I'd just refund the money, report it to Dwolla, and move on.

He indicated a fear that if he did so, that that wouldn't absolve him of the chargeback liability.  As though he would be sending them $220 of "new money" and still be liable for the original money received.  Seems odd that Dwolla wouldn't have a refund button, such a basic feature.  Dwolla's side of the story (as presented to the OP) would be interesting.

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