Are MtGox scammers?

[faille]

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?

[repentance]

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.

[faille]

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.

[davout]

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)

[Maria]

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.

[nebulus]

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. 

[EuSouBitcoin]

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/

[Mt.Gox_Alex]

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?

[farlack]

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.

[Kluge]

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)

[Luno]

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.

[twolifeinexile]

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.

[BlackLilac Jordan]

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.

[URSAY]

GOXXXED AGAIN.  They never learn.   

[twolifeinexile]

GOXXXED AGAIN.  They never learn.   

What happened?

[Mt.Gox_Alex]

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.

[Bitcoinpro]

does anyone here think MtGox would jeprodise their much vaulted position considering the current price  i didnt think so

[Mt.Gox_Support_Natalie]

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. 

[Mt.Gox_Support_Natalie]

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.

[Bitcoinpro]

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