Global Standard Bank - the first Bitcoin bank?

[imperi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Global_Standard_Bank&oldid=438378523

Global Standard Bank, the first global web based Bitcoin bank (www.globalstandardbank.com) is poised to make banking with this new cryptocurrency easy and accessible.
The 2009 introduction of Bitcoin (BTC) into the global currency market began an era of exciting possibilities reminiscent of the gold rush of the last century. Not unlike the Gold Rush, where fortunes were made and lost - Bitcoin's popularity has created a hazardous and confusing environment for many investors and speculators alike. The unregulated landscape is fertile ground for unscrupulous traders and fly-by-night operations that appear and vanish - often with their client's money. Also, being a digital currency stored on computers, owners of Bitcoin without protective infrastructure are subject to hacking and theft of their savings.
Global Standard Bank, founded on the principals of trust, integrity, and commitment stands ready to provide a safe and secure venue for investors in Bitcoin to navigate this exciting opportunity. An opportunity of which many speculate will be the opportunity of this century.
Through innovative and reliable solutions, Global Standard Bank provides a means to wealth creation and management that is simple to use, while sophisticated enough to meet the demands of a new global world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Standard_Bank

Global Standard Bank, is an internet business that uses Bitcoin the new cryptocurrency as its base currency. It was started in 2010 and publicly launched on July, 5 2011. Its representatives claim it to be the first bank for Bitcoin, and aim to bring Bitcoin to a mainstream audience[1]

Though its name contains the word "Bank", the company is not technically a bank. It promotes itself as a high security operation to protect against loss of Bitcoins from theft or hacking and state a "guarantee" of up to 5,000 Bitcoins per account against loss. However, Bitcoin is only a virtual currency, and Global Standard Bank is not a member of the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation, the government body that insures regular bank deposits.[2] It is also not on the list of federally-regulated banks of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions[3].

I've been trying to get the article deleted off of Wikipedia for the last day, and they aren't really a 'bank'. It'll be interesting to see if their site goes anywhere though.

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[mouse]

They quality of their site is not inline with the force of the claims.

This website seems sus.

[imperi]

They quality of their site is not inline with the force of the claims.

This website seems sus.

I was engaged in an edit war to remove it from the Bitcoin article as well. It just seems really fishy.

Also the owner was appealing to another editor to stop me from removing the link or nominating the GSB article for deletion, which was kind of funny.

Hi Gurt, Thanks for your help with the page I made for Global Standard Bank. There is another user trying to have the page deleted before it has a chance to grow with the addion of other user contrib. I think its a type of vandalism, as the same user entered into an editing war with me when i tried to include a link to the main Bitcoin page. Can you help?Bitcoineer (talk) 05:25, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

[imperi]

Signing up to trade or save Bitcoin with Global Standard is easy. Simply fill-out our one-time application form, Select the account that is right for you, and fund your account in U.S. Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros or Bitcoins... and that’s it!

While the initial customer application will take a 10 to 15 minutes to complete, future transactions are as quick and easy as filling out a deposit, withdrawal or exchange slip.

Before you begin make sure you have the following details on hand:

•Your U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN)
            or National Insurance Number - for residents of the U.K.
•Previous address details if you have lived at your current address for less than 3 years.
•Two pieces of Government issued Identification (at least one with photo) see acceptable I.D.

Wow... they need your social to sign up at their 'bank'?

[TiagoTiago]

That sounds quite suspicious...

Is the article carpetbombed with ^{[citation needed]} or what?

[Jaime Frontero]

Signing up to trade or save Bitcoin with Global Standard is easy. Simply fill-out our one-time application form, Select the account that is right for you, and fund your account in U.S. Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros or Bitcoins... and that’s it!

While the initial customer application will take a 10 to 15 minutes to complete, future transactions are as quick and easy as filling out a deposit, withdrawal or exchange slip.

Before you begin make sure you have the following details on hand:

•Your U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN)
            or National Insurance Number - for residents of the U.K.
•Previous address details if you have lived at your current address for less than 3 years.
•Two pieces of Government issued Identification (at least one with photo) see acceptable I.D.

Wow... they need your social to sign up at their 'bank'?

never run across a bank where you didn't need that...

yeah, it seems kind of nebulous.

and yes, there's a typo in the FAQ: it should be 'principle', not 'principal'.

and yet...

maybe it might be more beneficial to contact them and help them.  no?

i mean... ATMs!  a real customer service department with a phone number!  they're certainly thinking about the right stuff.

i dunno.  i ain't putting any BTC in there right now, but i'm willing to keep an eye on them.

think back to the beginnings of MtGOX...

[imperi]

It's also interesting how they didn't introduce themselves to the Bitcoin community at all, either on IRC, the forums, or wherever.

[mouse]

Signing up to trade or save Bitcoin with Global Standard is easy. Simply fill-out our one-time application form, Select the account that is right for you, and fund your account in U.S. Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros or Bitcoins... and that’s it!

While the initial customer application will take a 10 to 15 minutes to complete, future transactions are as quick and easy as filling out a deposit, withdrawal or exchange slip.

Before you begin make sure you have the following details on hand:

•Your U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN)
            or National Insurance Number - for residents of the U.K.
•Previous address details if you have lived at your current address for less than 3 years.
•Two pieces of Government issued Identification (at least one with photo) see acceptable I.D.

Wow... they need your social to sign up at their 'bank'?

Yeah I got alarm bells walking all over their site.

Losing any investment to theft is always serious business

It's serious business! They even said so!
Stock images everywhere, including their bluehost logo (that appears on browser tabs, etc). The most shitty layout skills ive ever seen, no buttons even have properly aligned text, site all built in  iWeb.

Tell me they're not trolling. For suckers.

*edit*
Another classic warning sign:
domain registered for 1 year.

I'm going to contact gary@garyhorsmandesign.com who is listed as the owner of the domain to see what he has to say.

[Jaime Frontero]

Wow... they need your social to sign up at their 'bank'?

I'm going to contact gary@garyhorsmandesign.com who is listed as the owner of the domain to see what he has to say.

like i said - i've never seen a bank where you didn't need a social.

but you're right - they should be here, posting.

[CurbsideProphet]

Wow... they need your social to sign up at their 'bank'?

I'm going to contact gary@garyhorsmandesign.com who is listed as the owner of the domain to see what he has to say.

like i said - i've never seen a bank where you didn't need a social.

but you're right - they should be here, posting.

Well traditional banks also have FDIC insurance so just because it's common practice for banks to ask for certain information certainly doesn't mean you should be giving it out to these guys.

[fourpointplay]

Here's my warning sign about this group/company/whatever it is:

-They added a small bitcoin enthusiast facebook page of mine as a friend.
--They posted a link to their page.
---They then unliked my page. (immediately)

in fact when you look through their profile (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Standard-Bank/241912465834258), you'll see that they have liked a ton of bitcoin pages (guess they forget to drop them as friends afterward) and posted their shitty spam on them all.
They make no attempt at actually interacting with potential customers, or even looking like they want to contribute.
I didn't visit that site then and I won't now since others are confirming that they do indeed look shady.

Seriously, why would anyone want to do business with them when they act like this.

[imperi]

They might be able to pull in some people who know nothing about Bitcoins.

[fourpointplay]

They might be able to pull in some people who know nothing about Bitcoins.

That's all they will ever be since they embraced a terrible strategy from the very beginning.

Luckily for consumers, I don't think people can make a career out of hawking NEW CHEAP NIKE SHOES on randome youtube videos, which is what this seems like.

e: laffo. "the gold rush of the last century" - did I miss it? maybe it was a few years before the Great Depression?

[mouse]

So lets get this right.

They are using 'very high tech storage':

Stored in our specially designed vault that combines the latest technology in bank grade encryption, redundant back-up systems and the physical security of an actual bank vault to protect against environmental threats such theft and fire. If that’s not enough, all deposits are fully guaranteed*against loss!

Yet their website is built in iWeb and is full of design flaws, bad formatting and broken links, and their webpage icon is actually their hosting companies (BLUEHOST.COM)!

They are opening offices in 5 cities, and they even have ATM's!
Toronto
New York
Vancouver
Montreal
Calgary
Yet the pages all link to 404

And apparantly their services are already live (from the 'news' section).

They are asking for very detailed personal identification to be faxed to them,
Yet their registered trademark logo isnt actually registered and their domain is only registered for 1 year.

SOUNDS LEGIT

Please change this to scam alert.

[imperi]

Please change this to scam alert.

Done.

[opticbit]

1btc monthly fee!?! no mention of how much intrest in the savings.

i generally like to give sites a chance, but not this one.  and the gov id requirements, what a pain/risk.

bccu.no-ip.org seems much better, even though i've had a problem with the loan/savings portion.

[toddbethell]

“they are guaranteed against loss for up to 5,000 Bitcoins per account.” 

Guaranteed by whom, Lloyds of London?

If they had such a policy or bond from a credible insurance company replacing btc with btc, then it would no doubt be posted. Also posted would be the bragging rights afforded by the insurance companies requirement of credible third party audits of IT systems and book keeping, If the owner is independently wealthy and self insured then sufficient assets must be escrowed or put in a trust. When these conditions exist then I will put my btc in that bank.  But not for free. 

[Anonymous]

Not sure if serious 

[Fakeman]

There's got to be someone on the forum who lives in montreal and can go scope it out. The idea of walking into a brick and mortar location and selling bitcoins for cash is certainly appealing, but I can't see why anyone would take them up on their savings account offer. That cheesy "GUARANTEED" stamp icon sure is a red flag though, what's it guaranteed by if they're a limited liability corporation? I wonder if they are a real corporation, should be easy enough to verify.

[Nagle]

I just sent an email to the leasing agent for their building to find out if they actually lease space at 1000 Rue De La Gauchetière Ouest, which is a 51-story building in downtown Montreal.