It’s not just Mistertango. I’m sure every bank flags and manually reviews large transactions. Have a look at this interesting list of flagging reasons:

https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/documents/red_flags/deposit_acct.pdf

Mistertango might have an automated transaction surveillance system which checks for red flags. If your SEPA transfer is captured for review, then there must be a reason. It could be the source of those funds. Was it an inward SEPA transfer from another person? They usually ask for documents in those cases. Another is, as I mentioned earlier, the amount. If it exceeds a certain threshold, then it might ring alarm bells.

Escrow is useless when using PayPal. That’s because you can dispute and reverse the payment after you get the coins. And to make things worse, you have 180 days to do that.

$125 might not sound like a super enormous amount of money but for some here it’s all they have. And for some dishonest members here it’s the jackpot prize. Some lowlifes even scam a few satoshis. This is the kind of place where scammers lurk 24/7 which is why it’s difficult to tell what’s legit and what’s not.

Can’t you offer another payment method? The kind that’s safer and chargeback-proof.

Scam or no scam, that's the major mistake. Storing a LARGE amount of bitcoins on a wallet which someone else controls. You should keep your coins in a wallet which are under your sole and exclusive control. This means you and you alone know and have access to the private keys.


Didn't quite understand that part. I know you're probably in panic mode when you wrote this which explains the way you wrote this. Did you send back the requested bitcoins? If you refunded them the bitcoins, let them know so they can unblock the rest of your coins. The account block was probably done to prevent you from emptying the account while that transaction error remains unresolved.

If the withdrawal was really executed twice, refund them the second transaction and let them know.

Sounds weird though. Why can't they simply deduct the wrongly executed 2nd transaction from your (rather large btc) balance, instead of freezing the entire balance?

I can’t comment about SEPA transfers to third party accounts but those I sent weekly to my account in Germany usually arrived the following business day, some even arrived on the same day. Their SEPA service has so far always been flawless.

The issue might be at the receiving end of the transfer. If the receiving bank finds the transfer suspicious for whatever reason, they might put a hold on it or delay crediting of funds.

Anything can happen. Exchanges and banks are so unpredictable nowadays.

Don't keep me in suspense, both of you. Interested in finding out if it will be a happy ending or a sad one.

What could possibly go wrong when you don't use escrow? This happens here on an almost daily basis so for once I will shut up and stop parroting about using escrow. Go ahead guys, fast forward please.

Don't forget to give an update here or on the scam section.

It takes a unique quality of shamelessness to keep this lending thread alive, oblivious to that red trust and unresolved accusation, as if they don't exist. It must be genetic or environmental.

But then I see all these newbies asking for loans and I can't help but wonder if they're color blind. They can't seem to see all that red or maybe they refuse to accept it's red.

OP, any chance of you looking into that open accusation? Resolving it might help your thread attract the more decent kind of borrowers.

I agree with the presumption that thread-locking newbies usually have an ulterior motive. Locking threads is usually done to avoid seasoned members from exposing the scam and warning others who might otherwise consider trading or dealing with the scammer.

Not that I am accusing OP of being a scammer. I know nothing about the deal or accusation but I agree that locking threads and selective payment methods tend to paint one as a shady character.

Giving unjustified retaliatory trust is just not nice. Makes one look vindictive. It's no fun trading with such people.

So it's hard enough to do a domestic wire transfer from one US bank to another US bank.  So much explaining and justifying about what you want to do with YOUR money. That lording over your personal finances and decisions is a true picture of dominance and power tripping.

Imagine if you wanted to wire that money to a bank OUTSIDE the US. That might be a mission to the moon.

Strange policy. I'm assuming they want to avoid being used as an intermediary for wires from crypto exchanges. Some banks refuse wires from exchanges and a way to get around it is to use another bank (which accepts such transactions) as a conduit.

Based on this document, wiring out a recently received wire is a red flag:

https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/documents/red_flags/deposit_acct.pdf

Which is probably why you were advised to use a check instead.

But the fact that they allow you to write checks instead makes it look like they want to simply inconvenience you. The crazy part is that they control and decide your financial life. You have cleared funds on your account. Why would they restrict you from wiring that money to other banks?  

That's if they're even in Panama, guys. They could be anywhere. If it's a scam, would they openly advertise their whereabouts and make it easy for Interpol to find them?

Amazing how a website can convince people to send $20k.. $50k.. maybe millions if you include those who might not have seen this thread yet.

Claims of partnerships should be checked and doublechecked, verified and confirmed. Due diligence is a must before sending thousands of $ to anybody. A hundred bucks or even less will get you a decent domain which you can build and transform into a professional looking financial services website. Then on that website, what's stopping you from claiming partnership with HSBC, AmEx and the IRS? If you word it carefully, someone somewhere might just about fall for it and wire you $100k!

The GTSHK link is most likely a way to obfuscate transactions, making it difficult to trace them across different jurisdictions. Come to think about it, why wouldn't they use Panamanian banks? Perhaps because they are not eligible to open such accounts, being nonresidents of that territory? Which, gentlemen, would be a red flag, indicating they might not even be in Panama! Incorporating in Panama can be done entirely online.

Well, the money is gone and the trail is cold. Finding them will not be easy.

Stop sending them money.

If it is enhanced verified, then your entire being, identity, name, ID are linked to that account. What’s the point of enhanced verification if your name is not associated with the account?

As for recovering the account, it’s really easy. Simply contact Bittrex support and tell them you’re the real owner of that account and that you can prove it (ID + selfies, docs, previously linked email, IP geolocation range etc) and voila they will reinstate your access to and ownership of that account... including any coins the buyer might have already deposited.

On top of that, selling a verified exchange account is not allowed. If you end up selling the account to a money launderer or fraudster, then that’s just the beginning of your worst nightmares. You also have identity theft to worry about and then there’s that little side story about accounts being misused to launder stolen coins.

Think about it.

Would you mind sharing more in-depth information about your debit card:

https://www.purchasedigitalcurrency.co.uk/services/debit-card/

Of particular interest would be the card issuer or your banking partner as I believe most if not all UK banks give cryptocurrency partnerships a wide berth.

Further, I clicked on the company details link and was taken nowhere.

Was also intrigued by the email address sales@purchasedigitalcurrency.co.uk

As an “exchange” I would have expected support@ or info@ instead of sales@ and “how to order” suggesting you are selling and not really an exchange.

The accolades “World Finance Banking Awards” and “Best Online Broker” are dead icons. Could you please share the links validating those claims? Thank you.

Would also be nice to know who, apart from Mr Sidharth Chhabra, controls and manages this exchange. Some transparency would help in understanding the company’s operational structure.

Do bitcoin clients and wallets follow the time shown or used on the computer they are installed on? If they do, then I guess OP is probably in Thailand because 2557 converts to 2014:

http://dateconverter.net/thai/2557/?hl=en

Thai years are usually expressed in Buddhist format which would BE 2557 in the example above. To correct it, OP should set his device’s calendar (or time & date settings) to Gregorian.

Would it still have been a joke if you weren’t challenged to sign the address and instead got a flood of offers to buy the coins outright?

I might even be tempted to think it was a test to see if it’s a doable scam or not.

Well done.

I thought CH is neither EU nor EEA:

https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea

Or was there a recent referendum which might have changed what that website says?

I know of no other cards supporting cryptocurrencies apart from WageCan which delivers cards to Switzerland too. The card is denominated in USD. Not sure about their exchange rates but the cost of applying for the card alone is a revoltingly high $200+ USD.

Skrill cards are supposed to be btc-loadable too, so I read somewhere.

Watching this thread like a hawk.

Yes, please sign that address. When and if you manage to do that, I’m sure you will see long snaking queues of buyers. Trusted escrow members will be ready too.

First step is that nicely signed address please.

Thanks for that. I'm learning and will make sure I use that search tool in the future.

Locking this thread now. Apologies for this redundant thread. Googling "bitcointalk leet" I now see this has been addressed in multiple threads in the past.

If you googled the site before placing the order, you might still have those coins today. I see you posted on this thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2003969.0

which suggests you only found that thread AFTER the scam.

This should have rang alarm bells:

CHARGES :
Bitcoin: NONE
Card : 4.5%
Paypal : 4%

PROCESSING TIME :
Bitcoin: Instant
Paypal: When Clears (Maximum 21 Days)
Card : (7-8 Days)

The terms are designed to compel one to pay by bitcoin and make the two other payment methods as unattractive as possible. The scammer included those payment methods to add a facade of legitimacy to the scam. A business accepting credit cards and PayPal or a variety of payment methods is often seen as trustworthy.

Those coins are lost and irrecoverable but thanks to you for taking the time to forewarn others.
 

Wondering why my post count says "leet"



How do signature campaigns count posts if this persists?

Or is this temporary?

__

Edit.. looks like it's gone.

For Asian countries, you can apply for the WageCan card. Their website is https://wagecan.com/

The card is available for delivery to all countries, except for a few FATCA non-compliant states. The bad news is the card's price. It's $200+ and that's just the application fee with cost of delivery included.

Then when you get the card you can withdraw max $25k per year. Max 1 card per verified identity. Fees... read and understand them carefully here:

https://wagecan.com/pricing

WageCan is one of the very few active card issuers supporting blockchain assets. They know this which explains their pricing model.