[SCAM WARNING] Godex locked my coins

[apogio]

Yes. Just so you know if they're really abandoned, or just ignoring you.

I don't know which is worse, but I just tried it. I will let you know once I have some feedback.

[joker_josue]

This has been going on for more than 3 months and it's still not resolved?
It's really a shame. They're doing a terrible job.

Even if you wanted to do KYC now, you would be suspicious whether or not they would release the money.

Very sad!

[apogio]

This has been going on for more than 3 months and it's still not resolved?
It's really a shame. They're doing a terrible job.

Even if you wanted to do KYC now, you would be suspicious whether or not they would release the money.

Very sad!

Definitely and thanks for pointing that out. I wouldn't give them any info about me, because they hide in the Seychelles, they have shady information on their website and they don't have clear regulation. In my opinion, they will just let the dust settle, they will keep ignoring me and, at some point, they will steal the money sending it to their own (personal) addresses.

[LoyceV]

In my opinion, they will just let the dust settle, they will keep ignoring me and, at some point, they will steal the money sending it to their own (personal) addresses.

It's already in their own personal address. There's no need for them to move it again: they own it.

[apogio]

In my opinion, they will just let the dust settle, they will keep ignoring me and, at some point, they will steal the money sending it to their own (personal) addresses.

It's already in their own personal address. There's no need for them to move it again: they own it.

How to make apogio cry  Well I knew it but it sounds worse now that you said it

[LoyceV]

How to make apogio cry  Well I knew it but it sounds worse now that you said it

Sorry

This is the reason I barely use exchangers, and if I do, only with small amounts. I don't trust them, and they don't give me a reason to trust them. I can only guess, but it looks like they want to be in the third category:

I recently came to the conclusion that it's not possible to offer a good, trusted privacy service for a long time:
1. If they're full KYC and honest about it, they can exist but there is no privacy.
2. If they're completely anonymous and don't ask for anything, authorities will eventually shut them down.
3. If they themselves are anonymous but selectively freeze funds (and keep them for themselves), they're kinda untouchable as they won't get big enough to be shut down, governments won't go after them for scamming, and users have no way to get their money back.
All we can do is warn people about #3.

By being #3, they avoid being #2 and governments won't shut them down. They still exist, but they're small enough not to become a target, and the occasional selective scamming makes it worth it for them.

[apogio]

This is the reason I barely use exchangers, and if I do, only with small amounts. I don't trust them, and they don't give me a reason to trust them. I can only guess, but it looks like they want to be in the third category:

I recently came to the conclusion that it's not possible to offer a good, trusted privacy service for a long time:
1. If they're full KYC and honest about it, they can exist but there is no privacy.
2. If they're completely anonymous and don't ask for anything, authorities will eventually shut them down.
3. If they themselves are anonymous but selectively freeze funds (and keep them for themselves), they're kinda untouchable as they won't get big enough to be shut down, governments won't go after them for scamming, and users have no way to get their money back.
All we can do is warn people about #3.

By being #3, they avoid being #2 and governments won't shut them down. They still exist, but they're small enough not to become a target, and the occasional selective scamming makes it worth it for them.

Now the question is, if not using exchangers, what can you use?

Well, one could use a CEX (kraken, binance, coinbase etc). They fall into category #1 which gives them some credibility that if you deposit now, exchange 10 minutes later and withdraw 20 minutes later, it's unlikely they will shut down during these 20 minutes. And if you 're verified they won't cause you any trouble (most likely). And even if they do cause you trouble, I guess it's better to have issues with Kraken (being big american entity) than Godex (being somewhere in the pacific ocean) for example.

There is also the option of using Bisq, but again the receiving medium must be carefully chosen not to expose you.

** Obviously I am talking about legitimate usage, no illegal activities etc. I don't care about what criminals do, I am a legal taxpayer and I want the best experience.

[LoyceV]

Now the question is, if not using exchangers, what can you use?

Not much. But I don't need much either: I'm not into altcoins, and it's been years since I had to deal with a Forkcoin recovery for someone. Back then, I sent only small amounts of BSV at a time to some unknown exchanger, and waited for my withdrawal to be confirmed. It worked without any problems, but I wouldn't trust them with anything bigger than that.

Well, one could use a CEX (kraken, binance, coinbase etc). They fall into category #1 which gives them some credibility that if you deposit now, exchange 10 minutes later and withdraw 20 minutes later, it's unlikely they will shut down during these 20 minutes. And if you 're verified they won't cause you any trouble (most likely). And even if they do cause you trouble, I guess it's better to have issues with Kraken (being big american entity) than Godex (being somewhere in the pacific ocean) for example.

There is also the option of using Bisq, but again the receiving medium must be carefully chosen not to expose you.

For crypto <> bank, I prefer a CEX because I'd expect much more questions from my bank if I use P2P. They trust a registered CEX more than a random person in a random country, and I can't even blame them for that. And since it requires my bank account anyway, I'm okay with "#1".

** Obviously I am talking about legitimate usage, no illegal activities etc. I don't care about what criminals do, I am a legal taxpayer and I want the best experience.

I couldn't agree more

[apogio]

For crypto <> bank, I prefer a CEX because I'd expect much more questions from my bank if I use P2P. They trust a registered CEX more than a random person in a random country, and I can't even blame them for that. And since it requires my bank account anyway, I'm okay with "#1".

It's not like you have plenty of options anyway. Unless you do F2F transactions with cash which is very scary for me and I don't wanna take the risks. In fact, this method would make me even more worried because I would need to keep too much attention on my transactions in order to be legally ok. It's much easier with banks and CEXs (not gonna lie). The legal framework was (and still is to an extent) very difficult in my country. I had to try to find how to be legal although it looks like the laws are constructed in a way to put obstacles in your endeavour. I mean, I wanted to declare my income and my gains from investment activities and I thought that someone was just messing with me. There were no laws to protect me and help me do it legally. Luckily, now things are better.

Anyway, let's see if they will respond to my other email.

[apogio]

Suddenly, the unexpected happened. Today I got refunded after pressuring too much with my emails.

I am extremely happy today!!!

@LoyceV I am asking your experience now. What should I do with the scam accusation here and with the flag I have created?  Obviously I am asking everyone for opinions, but I trust Loyce a lot, that’s why I called him straight away.

[LoyceV]

Suddenly, the unexpected happened. Today I got refunded after pressuring too much with my emails.

So, being Legendary pays off already! Congrats!
Serious question: did you get your own funds back, or other funds from a different address?

@LoyceV I am asking your experience now. What should I do with the scam accusation here and with the flag I have created?  Obviously I am asking everyone for opinions, but I trust Loyce a lot, that’s why I called him straight away.

Well, the Flag description is clear about it:

Godex_io did not make the victims of this act roughly whole, AND it is not the case that all of the victims forgave the act.

This is a binary, they did make you whole, so the Flag is invalid. Flags are supposed to be handled strictly, so I've withdrawn my Support. I suggest you do the same. Note that this doesn't mean I trust them, and I see no reason to Oppose this Flag.
I still consider them high risk though, so if you create a Newbie warning Flag (type 1), I'll Support it. I do believe users are at high risk of losing their money if they send it to this user/exchange.
I expect not all users will withdraw their Support from this Flag, and in similar cases the Flag remained active anyway.

Your feedback is still accurate, and I wouldn't remove it to keep the timeline:

Be careful! This service promises: "Godex does not require any personal data, no accounts or registrations. Godex stands for the original idea of incognito in the cryptocurrency world.". However, they locked my coins and require me to submit my ID just to send me my coins back.

This feedback makes it look as if they returned your money after you send them your ID. So you may want to add a neutral tag to update them returning your funds 4 months later.

My feedback is still accurate:

This exchange lies in their topic and on their website. They write things like "we never collect your personal data", "trade freely, no strings attached", "No Registration ' No KYC ' No Limits", "does not require any personal data" and "stands for the original idea of incognito in the cryptocurrency world", but freeze funds and demand a selfie with ID while hiding behind their Policy that contracts all of the above. That's not being honest, that's selective scamming because they know nobody in their right mind would send their documents to an anonymous person hiding in the Seychelles.

The other feedbacks still fit too. TL;DR my suggestion: Withdraw Flag, create Newbie Flag, keep feedback, add neutral tag explaining the current status. And never use them again

[apogio]

So, being Legendary pays off already! Congrats!
Serious question: did you get your own funds back, or other funds from a different address?

Haha thanks! Yeah it was my own funds from the address where they were locked in.

TL;DR my suggestion: Withdraw Flag, create Newbie Flag, keep feedback, add neutral tag explaining the current status.

The way I see it, your suggestion makes sense. I will withdraw the flag, I will add a neutral tag and I will lock this thread in a day or so.

Is there a way to completely remove the flag? Or just remove my support?

And never use them again

Wait, aren't they trustworthy now?

[joker_josue]

Suddenly, the unexpected happened. Today I got refunded after pressuring too much with my emails.

Did they give any explanation for the delay in returning the item?
Did they at least respond to an email saying they would return it?

Or you simply woke up in the morning and saw that you had received your money back?


Regarding the red flag, if you decide to remove it, please let me know so I can withdraw support.
I'll create a tag for the situation.  


EDIT: After all, I had already left a tag. 4 months later, I didn't even remember anymore.

[apogio]

Did they give any explanation for the delay in returning the item?
Did they at least respond to an email saying they would return it?

Or you simply woke up in the morning and saw that you had received your money back?

So, I 've been sending emails all this time and they suddenly responded to my last one, saying the can't process the exchange but the can issue a refund to the origin address.

Regarding the red flag, if you decide to remove it, please let me know so I can withdraw support.
I'll create a tag for the situation.  


EDIT: After all, I had already left a tag. 4 months later, I didn't even remember anymore.

I will withdraw the flag, I 've already withdrawn my support to my own flag 

I 've also left a neutral tag but haven't removed my negative tags to maintain history.

[LoyceV]

it was my own funds from the address where they were locked in.

At least that's something. I've seen instant exchangers that instantly sent the "dangerous" deposit to another customer. At least in this case returning your own money supports their "but it's dirty and we can't touch it" story.

Is there a way to completely remove the flag? Or just remove my support?

Flags can't be removed.

I'll add a neutral tag as well: despite returning OPs money (after 4 months), they're still lying on their website. It looks like this:
Be private.
That still conflicts with their Terms, that say they can demand whatever they want from you. I don't trust this site.

[ABCbits]

TL;DR my suggestion: Withdraw Flag, create Newbie Flag, keep feedback, add neutral tag explaining the current status.

I agree with this opinion. Aside from it took 4 months, several false claim (that spotted by some members) still exist on their and i fear feel there'll another victim like OP. If OP decide to create flag type 1/newbie, i would support it and remove support to current flag.

I'll add a neutral tag as well: despite returning OPs money (after 4 months), they're still lying on their website. It looks like this:
Be private.
That still conflicts with their Terms, that say they can demand whatever they want from you. I don't trust this site.

Their claim about anonymous or no personal data that i found some time ago[1] also still exist.

[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5540023.msg65337026#msg65337026

[apogio]

So, I would like to summarize this thread:


A. Thank you all for your support, I really appreciate it and it's very hopeful to see the members of this forum being united and supportive.

B. Since I was refunded without sending personal documents, I am asking you to revisit the flag and consider changing your support. I 've already withdrawn my support as well.

C. Be cautious with random websites, exchangers, mixers etc. Your money is yours only if you own the keys. If you (even temporarily) send your coins to another entity, it's potentially their money from that moment and forever.

D. Read (C) again and again.


I don't know if I should lock the thread, but if nobody has anything of importance to say, I 'd like my summary to be the last post in this thread.

Thanks again!