Don't accept bribe to do KYC, it doesn't worth it

[Cookdata]

You all remember what happened to the Canada freedom convoy protesters^[1] when they received massive donations through bitcoin and the aftermath that occur? All those who made bitcoins donations via exchanges were tracked and their accounts were suspended pending investigation because the donations came from an exchange, that's what happens when you KYC on an exchange, you just handed over your identity and everything about you to them.

Apart from the privacy that KYC will take away from you, it poses a significant risk to yourself and creates a great deal of uncertainty. There could be a data leak from an exchange, and you may find it difficult to comprehend when you are wanted for something you never did or had any knowledge about. Just imagine your passport displayed on the dark web as a tool for sale for anyone who wants to do something bad and cover their tracks with your identity.

I received an email from Blockchain stating that I should verify the account I opened when I was new to Bitcoin and had no idea that it was still operational until yesterday that I should verify my account and enjoy some benefits such as swapping, buying, and selling, and that I would be entitled to $5 if I did so. I had to pause a second and laugh at the incentive just to give out my information.






Runaway from KYC, this is just one of the ways they want you to give out your privacy for a change and lastly to the Airdrop Maffians that rush to KYC, be careful of those platforms that promise you a penny, they don't worth your information.


[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5385954.0

[1715266075]

1715266075

[1715266075]

1715266075

[NeuroticFish]

There could be a data leak from an exchange

It's a rather complicated matter.
One important thing is that data leak is not even necessary, a warrant may just do. Even more, I would not be surprised to hear that this or that exchange has sold certain user data to other companies.
Another important thing is that while way too many send (full) KYC information to get airdrop of whatever 100% worthless shitcoin or shittoken, getting 5$ may look appealing to some and 20$ will look appealing to (far too) many.
And some of those, after years, will realize how stupid they were. (It has happened to me too, so I know.)


So while you are completely right, I fear that unfortunately the target audience for this kind of offers will most probably ignore your warning for now.

[Erumo]

I am sick of bitstamp emails, that remind me to pass KYC and get 25$. I think I have already removed all the marks in notification section and almost abandoned my account there, but they are very obtrusive. First they use Free BTC in subject. Then they send emails with subject "require your attention". I stupidly open then, thinking there is something important there. But they just change 25$ bonus codes there I think even when I die, they will bother me with KYC and 25$ in hell.

[Upgrade00]

The issue is far too many members of the public are not privacy conscious and many see seeking privacy as having a criminal motive. The more people who flock to privacy centered platforms, the harder it is for members who do not want to reveal their personal information to keep it private.

and that I would be entitled to $5 if I did so. I had to pause a second and laugh at the incentive just to give out my information.

Depending on the location, that would be an attractive amount for one to give up their KYC documents for, especially when you do not see the worth of keeping it private.

[qwertyup23]

Whoah, that is somehow intriguing- offering free money in order to register for KYC. That kind of practice definitely sparks a red-flag given that they actually offer you free money in exchange for your KYC documents. Do not ever compromise your personal information and identity regardless of the value of the money being offered.

Once your identity and personal information has been compromised, these scammers will use it to their advantage to phish more information about you and your family members. While you may feel the effects of being personally compromised, your family members may be the subject of their scams which will definitely cost you more money in the end.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Thats really not worth it IMO converting your privacy to a 20$ payment. I could do it if its worth $20k at least provided the platform is not suspicious. Lots of newbies are tempted with the money and I cant judge them cause we dont know that amount could be bigger for them. There are some countries that arent into crypto and deprived of such privilege to earn from airdrops and knowing there is money in things like this maybe its not a huge risk for them.

[tranthidung]

It is two sides of a coin and there are pros and cons for each side. As always in life, what is good for person A might not be good for person B. Here we can only point out pros and cons of each approach: do KYC and take money; reject unnecessary KYC and maintain privacy, anonymity.

• Why KYC is extremely dangerous – and useless
• Another day, another data leak - more phishing likely

If you don't really need small income for living expenses, why should you accept to throw away your anonymity just to get $20 or $50? Because when you lose it, it goes away forever and you can not erase it on the Internet

If you are in hungry, why do you not take that money that is vital probably not for yourself but also for your family?

What people should do is read, learn about pros and cons, then analyze their own conditions and make their own decisions with well awareness on very likely consequences they will get by their decisions.

[bittraffic]

Can't blame them however for sending their documents because $20 is a big amount already for someone who experience the worse crisis in their lives. If you are not one of those people I guess you are lucky enough to be prepared for the future without getting affected by lockdowns, unemployment and inflation.

Glad that I leave my blockchain.com wallet since 2016 after learning from the people here about the safety of web wallets. Avoiding KYC from exchanges like Binance though is harder.

[tranthidung]

Can't blame them however for sending their documents because $20 is a big amount already for someone who experience the worse crisis in their lives.

It's a point!

For people who are in need of such, they should take it but for people who are not in such bad conditions, they should think carefully. I think platforms probably don't have bad intention when they run such campaigns, giveaway, airdrops to their users. KYCs in such campaigns are unnecessary because without this mandatory process, cheaters will come and take money.

[mk4]

It's a point!

For people who are in need of such, they should take it but for people who are not in such bad conditions, they should think carefully. I think platforms probably don't have bad intention when they run such campaigns, giveaway, airdrops to their users. KYCs in such campaigns are unnecessary because without this mandatory process, cheaters will come and take money.

Yep. Do KYC farms exist? I wouldn't be surprised if people from poor countries(à la Venezuela) mass submit KYC documents for the "free" $5-50 per registration; like how some try to make money through bounties and faucets. Assuming that these KYC offers are offered to these countries as well.

[pooya87]

One of the biggest and sometimes overlooked problems of submitting KYC with centralized exchanges is that most of the times your documents end up on darknet being sold, whether the exchange got hacked and all user information were leaked or the exchange simply sold it and it eventually made its way there to be sold to more people!
This risk is higher if they are paying users to do KYC, there is a good chance they are going to make the money back...

[dansus021]

please Don't accept bribe to do KYC, it doesn't worth it for other people yes and totally aggree but if u do kYC for exchange and other platfrom for yourself think twice like the OP said that he will receive 5$ to do kyc infact there is dozen of bounty or airdrop that need people filling KYC to their platfrom and yes they can sell ur data

so the point is if you dont really need the plaftrom or not using it for daily or weekly usage dont do KYC just In my opinion but if using the plaftrom so many times and trusted you can do KYC

in my country people just need Citizen ID and a selfie they can take multiple loan from different apps online even illegal one to get fast loan without collateral so yeah that crazy

[boyptc]

These are cheap marketing.

These exchanges are following the regulation of their mother country for their sole business purpose. But we don't know if they really are into "only" it and there's no other purpose that they do our identities.

Although we're no longer kids to have an idea on what they really do to our data, it's being sold and we don't know if it's them or someone who works for them that handles that database of our ids.

But most likely as said, whenever there's a breach. For sure expect that it's already on the other side of the market which these scammers that buy it are on the fiesta with our data.

[Rruchi man]

For people who are in need of such, they should take it but for people who are not in such bad conditions, they should think carefully.

Exactly, some people's details are not important to them and is worth a few dollars, this sort of incentive though may not be ill centered, but will certainly attracts more unsuspecting individuals who consider their details and private information not so important.

I think platforms probably don't have bad intention when they run such campaigns, giveaway, airdrops to their users.

It would have been more suspicious if the amount promised was a very ridiculous amount. If that was the case, it will be obvious that it is just a scheme to lure users in for an ill centered reason most probably to steal private information.

Regardless, if you don't feel comfortable being enticed with money for kYC verification, you are free to opt out and seek other options.

[tranthidung]

Yep. Do KYC farms exist? I wouldn't be surprised if people from poor countries(à la Venezuela) mass submit KYC documents for the "free" $5-50 per registration; like how some try to make money through bounties and faucets. Assuming that these KYC offers are offered to these countries as well.

I don't know, frankly!

Because platforms have their own mechanisms to detect it. In my support experience, there are people who create multiple accounts and multiple documents to verify their accounts. In the end, after some bad trades and perhaps carelessness, they were detected with multi-accounting that results in account bans permanently. Because it breaks ToS.

Although I am not sure about KYC to claim giveaways, airdrops. I have never participated in such ones so I don't have experience to say, I believe platforms will not let farms to surpass their KYCs and claim rewards.

[traderethereum]

If they offer some money, under $100, to verify by sending some documents, I think we can choose something else.
But if it's an exchange, which we use to trade, I think many of us will verify because that's how we make money.
Whether we want to do the verification or not, it's up to us because we've seen a lot of people doing verification in the hope of getting a few dollars after their account is verified.
So we have to be smart in choosing which ones need to be verified and which ones are not necessary to minimize the possibility of misuse of our data by third parties.

[lovesmayfamilis]

This is a long-established business, when scammers need documents of people from a particular country, they offer payment only if a person passes verification on a website, and even easier, they simply take screenshots of their documents.
Today, many people are mistaken in thinking that it is very easy to earn $20 by showing their identity on some website. I saw a completely harmless site that sells toys, and as a prize, the scammers offer some small change, and of course they require documents. And this makes one think, if such sites exist, then they are created for a reason, the victims from such deceptions also do not decrease.

[Pterosaur]

Anyone on here who buy crypto with no FIAT? I'm just stating a fact that everyone on here has passed KYC at a point in this crypto space, you need FIAT to buy Crypto and you need to pass KYC to swap that Fiat to coin.

[NeuroticFish]

Yep. Do KYC farms exist? I wouldn't be surprised if people from poor countries(à la Venezuela) mass submit KYC documents for the "free" $5-50 per registration; like how some try to make money through bounties and faucets. Assuming that these KYC offers are offered to these countries as well.

I think that such farming may exist even in projects advertised on this forum. At some point altcoin announcements still existed with airdrops that needed KYC. And probably they're still some, although I avoid that area now.
It's cheaper to give the plebs worthless tokens for the KYC info one is farming. Then whatever price it that sold at, it's basically pure profit.
Afterwards one can increase the business and go for the next level, offering 5$ BTC 

[hugeblack]

I received an email from Blockchain stating that I should verify the account I opened when I was new to Bitcoin and had no idea that it was still operational until yesterday that I should verify my account and enjoy some benefits such as swapping, buying, and selling, and that I would be entitled to $5 if I did so. I had to pause a second and laugh at the incentive just to give out my information.

Blockchain is the last service you want to verify identity with them, they present themselves as a “wallet” meaning that you will bear all the losses if you forget your seeds, and there is no active support team, however the wallet is buggy, it can be hacked, you can lose Money without compensation, your data can be exchanged with a third party, however the exchange is expensive, transaction fees are high, does not support bc1, and does not guarantee that you will get the reward.

I don't know, but I think that if your data is not important, you will not get that money, and if it is important (from the first world countries), you indirectly lost much more than this reward.