Can't withdraw BTC from Bitstamp

[wamatt]

Heads up, just tried to withdraw BTC from Bitstamp and received the following error:

"BITCOIN WITHDRAWALS ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE FOR YOUR ACCOUNT."

I've logged a ticked in the meantime. Not sure if it's related, but haven't used bitstamp in months. 2FA is turned on, and I changed my password after a suggestion prompt, and then relogged confirming that it worked. My account is also verified.

Is this suspension normal?

[btbrae]

Did you get the phishing e-mail a little while ago? Because they sent an e-mail and you had to send a quick e-mail off to say you knew what you were doing.

[ahu]

I can't withdraw BTC either, but for different reasons. The link in the withdrawal confirmation email doesn't work (gets me to regular Bitstamp login). Same thing happens if I try to disable the email confirmation.

[snarlpill]

I'm needing to buy some BTC with Fiat from my bank account, how long does it take to buy BTC from Bitstamp? I'd like to use my Coinbase account right now for the price it's displaying, but don't want to wait 4 days to get them. I'll usually use coin.mx for instant purchases but the price they're running for BTC is around $630+ right now, while everywhere else is displaying ~$580.

[wamatt]

Did you get the phishing e-mail a little while ago? Because they sent an e-mail and you had to send a quick e-mail off to say you knew what you were doing.

Oh I see, yeah I didn't click anything like that. Due to the wave of phishing attacks I tend to delete/ignore emails from Bitstamp and instead sign in to the website directly.

Support replied said  they would re-enable if I confirmed I hadn't clicked on the phishing emails.... Which you know seemed a little odd, given an attacker could write "Oh hey all good" in the support ticket.

Hopefully this is just a temporary speedbump.

[Fuggen]

This is what they sent me:

-------------------------------------
Dear XXXXXXXXXXX, we understand your position and apologize for the inconvenience, however the safety or our users' accounts is one of our top priorities. Since the activity of your account has triggered some of our internal security thresholds the above mentioned precautions were put in place. In order to conclude the process and restore your withdrawal options to normal status, we shall have to kindly ask you to please provide a high resolution image of yourself holding your ID and "[date of submission] For Bitstamp LIMITED only" written on a piece of paper as the example below. EXAMPLE: "12.January.2014 For Bitstamp LIMITED only" We would also like to take this opportunity and offer our optional 2-factor security feature, since it is currently disabled for your account. If you own a smartphone you can enable the feature in the "Security” section: https://www.bitstamp.net/account/security/two-factor-authentication/ You can also follow this step by step setup guide should you encounter any difficulties: https://www.bitstamp.net/s/documents/bitstamp_2_factor_authentication_guide.pdf Should you require any assistance in the meantime, please feel free to ask. Best regards, Rok Štucin
-------------------------------------

My interpratation is as follows:

1. They block my coin for no legal reason.
2. They hold my coin hostage until I send them my bio data.
3. They want to lure me into Google's TFA.
   So, if I agree to give Google my phone number, so I can be localized minimum  anytime I log in to bitstamp, and a picture of myself suitable
   for a face recognition system, along with my official passport,
   they tell me to unlock my funds.

   (I suspect they have an 'obligation' to pass some data on bitcoin users
   along with their history to some special 'customers')

   "Know your customer" procedures have been passed on me long ago, they have
   my passport, my address and validated bank accounts.  So why additional
   'high resolution' photos?

   They ask way more than UK regulations, and way more than any bank.

There are no legal requirements for them to to so, nor are there legal requirements for me to comply.  So I won't.

Their reason is obviously that MY computer systems MAY have been breached by SOMEONE, PERHAPS, and that MY funds COULD be EVENTUALLY stolen by SOMEONE, IF this MIGHT have happened. ("the safety or our users' accounts is one of our top priorities")

They do not have any saying about the safety of my computer systems.  This is only my concern.

Since they blocked my coin, I suffered a loss of about 30%.

In my opinion this is both

 - a breach of contract, because I never agreed to additional "security" procedures blocking my funds in case MY computer systems where breached,
and second it is
 - blackmail, because a) they hold my money hostage, and b) ask for something I do not owe them.


If they do not budge,  I will sue them for a compensation for my losses, and then this company is finito for me.

[Rannasha]

1. They block my coin for no legal reason.

They don't block your coins for legal reasons, they do it to prevent coin theft due to phishing. I can imagine it's not the most popular approach, but the complaining would've been much worse if people had lost coins due to the phishing attacks on Bitstamp users a while ago.

2. They hold my coin hostage until I send them my bio data.

They already have your ID scan, since that's required to deposit/withdraw/trade on Bitstamp. All they need is a proof that you're still the original owner of the account.

3. They want to lure me into Google's TFA.
   So, if I agree to give Google my phone number, so I can be localized minimum  anytime I log in to bitstamp, and a picture of myself suitable
   for a face recognition system, along with my official passport,
   they tell me to unlock my funds.

Stop being paranoid. Google 2FA is an open-source algorithm and there are various alternative apps that implement it, for a wide variety of platforms. Hell, the algorithm is quite simple, you could even implement it yourself. Finally, they're only recommending that you enable 2FA, not requiring it. And honestly, why anyone would choose not to use 2FA on an account that holds their money is beyond me.
   

There are no legal requirements for them to to so, nor are there legal requirements for me to comply.  So I won't.

Their reason is obviously that MY computer systems MAY have been breached by SOMEONE, PERHAPS, and that MY funds COULD be EVENTUALLY stolen by SOMEONE, IF this MIGHT have happened. ("the safety or our users' accounts is one of our top priorities")

They do not have any saying about the safety of my computer systems.  This is only my concern.

Since they blocked my coin, I suffered a loss of about 30%.

In my opinion this is both

 - a breach of contract, because I never agreed to additional "security" procedures blocking my funds in case MY computer systems where breached,
and second it is
 - blackmail, because a) they hold my money hostage, and b) ask for something I do not owe them.


If they do not budge,  I will sue them for a compensation for my losses, and then this company is finito for me.

You may want to evaluate the terms of use of a website next time before you sign up and transfer money to it:

If there is suspicious activity related to your Account, we may, but are not obligated, to request additional information from You, including authenticating documents, and to freeze any transactions pending our review. You are obligated to comply with these security requests, or accept termination of Your Account.

The process that you're asked to go through is described quite well in the ToU.

[Explicit]

I opened a ticket at Bitstamp, saying that I understand what a phishing email is and what it may do, and that I understand the risk, etc. I was able to withdraw my bitcoins within an hour. I didn't encounter any problems.
I think that the logic "better safe than sorry" implemented by Bitstamp is OK.

[OrphanedGland]

Got this message on my account and no replies from support for 7 days.  Is there even a single person running Bitstamp support?

[mayax]

they have problems now, they are hacked and they have problems with their bank account too.
Their main bank may close their account.