ChangeNOW.io Scammed me for 28000$

[TerraLee]

What happened::
Yesterday i was making exchange 9 eth to btc via atomic wallet, Transaction was completed but orders status says waiting for deposit
after i contacted support, i was given answer that i need to pass KYC in order to complete exchange
I dont feel comfortable in sending my PII to anyone, thats not how crypto suppose to works. So, based on TOS
https://changenow.io/faq/kyc-aml-procedure
quote:
"In case a client doesn’t wish to disclose their identity for certain reasons and refuses to provide the documents, the KYC/AML procedure is considered failed and the deposited funds are then refunded to the address (or addresses) the deposit was made from, subtracting the network fees, within 24 hours. Then, ChangeNOW reserves the right to blacklist this address (or addresses), thus rendering it (or them) non-eligible for making deposits on the service."

i refused, than support informed me: "(14:37:53) Kate: I'm afraid a refund is not possible at the moment. Our compliance team will need to check this case, a KYC would help with that."

Later, support even told me that, quote "Unfortunately, it is not possible to take further action on this case without your cooperation in completing the KYC procedure."
So, it consider it a plain refusal

Scammers Profile Link:
changenow.io
Reference Link:
Amount Scammed:
9eth/ 28k usd
Payment Method:
eth
Proof of Payment:
https://etherscan.io/tx/0x2bba9512fce25b7978df94229a691a73ba7dcfb73d7dd82c6bff5acbdaa3a514
https://changenow.io/exchange/txs/7f2c1e84292bcf
PM/Chat Logs:
Avatar
natalasoloveva301
1 day ago
I need a refund on order 7f2c1e84292bcf due to my refusal to complete KYC. i do not wish to share my PII with anyone, including your third parties. as per your TOS https://changenow.io/faq/kyc-aml-procedure
quote:
"In case a client doesn’t wish to disclose their identity for certain reasons and refuses to provide the documents, the KYC/AML procedure is considered failed and the deposited funds are then refunded to the address (or addresses) the deposit was made from, subtracting the network fees, within 24 hours. Then, ChangeNOW reserves the right to blacklist this address (or addresses), thus rendering it (or them) non-eligible for making deposits on the service."

I need this matter resolved as soon as possible as amount is not small. Thank you!

Avatar
Emma
1 day ago
Hello,
 
Unfortunately, it is not possible to take further action on this case without your cooperation in completing the KYC procedure.

Additional Notes:
They are asking for PII which i dint want to share. I dont trust those guys with my PII. I need my refund, i will not provide and participate in KYC.
Now, they will talk about "investigation with no ETA" but on their helpdesk support clearle refused to provide any refund without KYC. So, i refuse to Provide it, and now it seems like it their money now) I know that this is not fors complaint about them, but i simply didnt read atomic wallet tos to know what exactly they using for swaps, never though they will rob be like that

[Charles-Tim]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

[TerraLee]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

[Stablexcoin]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

Atomic themselves is not an exchange that is why they are working with Changenow.io. Bt there are other people they can partner with like Exodus and the rest of them. Why did they choose Changenow.io when they saw so many negative reviews if they were not partners in crime?

Read their Tos - https://changenow.io/faq/kyc-aml-procedure. Only a few will work using this exchange

[Xal0lex]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

If user ni23457 is to be believed, all of these services are owned by the same people.

Briefly:
Changelly, Atomic Wallet, ChangeNOW, Guarda are from the same city(St. Petersburg) and from the same group of people and these services protect each other

[Lida93]

Does this exchange has a place in this forum? Don't think so!

One thing that has got me wondering is how people will go outside the forum get to make use of an exchange or a casino the got found out there and not in the forum advertising, only to come to the forum, make a long thread about how they have been scammed by the very exchange. But then I have always asked myself, what do they want the community to do about that hence such exchange or casino platform doesn't operate in the forum.

I sincerely sympathise with your situation but it should serve as warning to do a thorough research on some of these platforms from reputable communities before engaging in their services to avoid "had I known".

[TerraLee]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

If user ni23457 is to be believed, all of these services are owned by the same people.

Briefly:
Changelly, Atomic Wallet, ChangeNOW, Guarda are from the same city(St. Petersburg) and from the same group of people and these services protect each other

Unfortunately, dont have rights to see topic, but i will appreciate any information leading to doxing them with actual info, that would definitely help, for good info will offer a reward

[Xal0lex]

The instant exchange is not having good q reputation on this forum.

This is the exchange profile: ChangeNOW

Click on the trust on the exchange profile page, you will see this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1307188

The exchange is not recommended on this forum since many years ago.

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

If user ni23457 is to be believed, all of these services are owned by the same people.

Briefly:
Changelly, Atomic Wallet, ChangeNOW, Guarda are from the same city(St. Petersburg) and from the same group of people and these services protect each other

Unfortunately, dont have rights to see topic, but i will appreciate any information leading to doxing them with actual info, that would definitely help, for good info will offer a reward

What do you mean, “no rights”? Go to this link and read, this topic is available to all forum users without exception.

ChangeNow.io (Evercode Lab) - Scam. Illegally holding of 100 BCH (11 bitcoins).

[Marykeller]

Does this exchange has a place in this forum? Don't think so!

One thing that has got me wondering is how people will go outside the forum get to make use of an exchange or a casino the got found out there and not in the forum advertising, only to come to the forum, make a long thread about how they have been scammed by the very exchange. But then I have always asked myself, what do they want the community to do about that hence such exchange or casino platform doesn't operate in the forum.

I sincerely sympathise with your situation but it should serve as warning to do a thorough research on some of these platforms from reputable communities before engaging in their services to avoid "had I known".

Bringing up here(forum), crypto deals that are done outside the forum that turn out to be scams are not necessarily a bad idea. Do you know why? So that other people will learn from other people's experiences, to avoid and not deal with such crypto exchanges or casinos when they by mistake come across it outside the forum, they will learn how to avoid it completely and not deal with them

I don't think OP, really know that ChangeNow.io has been found guilty of scam in the forum here, so many other people may not know about it the same way he does. They may also fall guilty of the same scam in the future.

Bringing up the issue here will deeply reduce the future scams ChangeNow.io will have in the future. At least people in the forum will tell their friends and relations to stay away from ChangeNow and its scam colleagues

Briefly:
Changelly, Atomic Wallet, ChangeNOW, Guarda are from the same city(St. Petersburg) and from the same group of people and these services protect each other

[Moreno233]

The good thing about a forum like ours is that there is a way of checking the reputation of any provider before putting your money into that. I have not read any good review about ChangeNOW.io so I don't know what could be your motivation for using them. Besides, before using them and even putting such large amount of money into the platform, it would have been necessary to do a little background checks, that is if you truly care about your money. You did not do any of that neither did you consider other better alternatives we have which is a mistake from your part. The only option you have is either to submit the KYC, which I don't think will even return your money because their violation of their TOS means they intentionally want to scam.

[hugeblack]

They are selective scammers when you deposit small amounts they will process it but there will definitely be a lot of problems with large deposits.
Don't lose hope about getting your money back, if you are ready to complete the Kyc then you need to make more noise here, Reddit, Social Media until they return part of your money.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Damn, that's an annoying case to be honest. You totally have the right to refuse and get a refund and still they are doing this? Just ridiculous.
Personally I have used cn several times, always without any problem, even with medium 4 digit $ amounts. Guess this really is selective scamming, as it has been said before. I wonder what they will say in case you did provide KYC. Would there be  different excuse?

One thing by the way, just for the future if you ever think about using cn again (hopefully you don't). If you use atomic wallet -> changenow for the the exchange you get a worse rate. If you open a changnow account directly you always get a much better one. But yeah, guess using it again might be out of question now. 

[TerraLee]

Another interesting detail: i opened financial claim on bestchange, and admin changed claimto non-financial, like those people dont own me anything) I think Bestchange same people too, but they seems to be present here without problems?

[noormcs5]

Yeah, i know, my problem was that i was using atomic wallet, and they didnt say what are they using for exchange(
I think owners of atomic wallet should think who they partner with too, if they not scammers like ChangeNow.io

Seems like you are using all the shady services. Atomic wallet aren't trusted either.   Atomic Wallet compromised and not safe!

They are selective scammers when you deposit small amounts they will process it but there will definitely be a lot of problems with large deposits.
Don't lose hope about getting your money back, if you are ready to complete the Kyc then you need to make more noise here, Reddit, Social Media until they return part of your money.

I don't think they will return 28000$ even if the OP floods the social media and this forum with their scam accusations, they aren't going to return anything.

Another interesting detail: i opened financial claim on bestchange, and admin changed claimto non-financial, like those people dont own me anything) I think Bestchange same people too, but they seems to be present here without problems?

You're saying Bestchange aren't trusted too ? I guess we need more proof from you too for using Bestchange and the amount you send to them ?
I think you should try https://exch.cx/ . They are the most trusted ones among all these services.

[TerraLee]

You're saying Bestchange aren't trusted too ? I guess we need more proof from you too for using Bestchange and the amount you send to them ?
I think you should try https://exch.cx/ . They are the most trusted ones among all these services.

bestchange is exchangers aggregator, with reviews and possibility to open claims against exchangers listed there. I opened claim against changeNOW https://www.bestchange.com/changenow-exchanger.html?review=3109066 and admin seems to care too much about their reputation

[paid2]

OP, I've just added your case to this list: [INFO] Updated Summary of malpractices and abuses of exchanges

Please keep us informed if there are any new developments. I hope you'll manage to recover your funds, even if it may be difficult as the situation you're currently experiencing is a full part of ChangeNOW's business model..

Another interesting detail: i opened financial claim on bestchange, and admin changed claimto non-financial, like those people dont own me anything) I think Bestchange same people too, but they seems to be present here without problems?

You should have a look on https://antiswap.io if you want to get a quick view of how shady BestChange are..

[NotATether]

This is utterly ridiculous that they even try to hold your BTC and make you forfeit it. What do they think they are, the government authorities?

I have a conspiracy theory made recently, that ChangeNOW are running at an operating loss and they're using people's stolen BTC to inflate their balance sheets. It would not surprise me one bit if they went out of business soon.

[Zwei]

They are selective scammers when you deposit small amounts they will process it but there will definitely be a lot of problems with large deposits.
Don't lose hope about getting your money back, if you are ready to complete the Kyc then you need to make more noise here, Reddit, Social Media until they return part of your money.

I don't think they will return 28000$ even if the OP floods the social media and this forum with their scam accusations, they aren't going to return anything.

looking at past cases, i don't think they will return it either. but making more noise can't hurt at this point, he is already out $28k.
and there is a small chance they might return his money, if they don't, at least he is warning others to think twice before they use changenow.

Personally I have used cn several times, always without any problem, even with medium 4 digit $ amounts.

big balls trusting GetScammedNOW with a 4 digit $ amount.

This is utterly ridiculous that they even try to hold your BTC and make you forfeit it. What do they think they are, the government authorities?

exactly my thoughts. they have no right to confiscate a customer coins unless they have an order from the authorities to do so.
they are even in breach of their OWN terms of service by refusing to give him a refund.

I have a conspiracy theory made recently, that ChangeNOW are running at an operating loss and they're using people's stolen BTC to inflate their balance sheets. It would not surprise me one bit if they went out of business soon.

they would have to be business retards if they are unprofitable with all the fees they charge to resort to selective scams just to inflate their balance sheets.
it's a wild conspiracy, but i wouldn't be surprised if it's true.

[TerraLee]

so, they keep sending me KYC links, i keep refusing. For me - sending anything to those scammers - its enabling them to steal more. If they dont have any cooperation from me, no talks and no documents, what possible kind of investigation can they perform?) By doing this i will proof to everyone that investigations are bullshit

going to start doxxing current heads of evercode labs soon, ready to pay extra to give them a lesson

[examplens]

so, they keep sending me KYC links, i keep refusing. For me - sending anything to those scammers - its enabling them to steal more. If they dont have any cooperation from me, no talks and no documents, what possible kind of investigation can they perform?) By doing this i will proof to everyone that investigations are bullshit

going to start doxxing current heads of evercode labs soon, ready to pay extra to give them a lesson

I assume that you are aware that you will never receive your money without KYC, although even passing KYC is not a guarantee that you will be refunded. Also, any doxxing or similar actions will not cause them any damage, they will continue with the same business policy.
The only thing that makes sense is to go through the institutions and try to get the authorities to act in their case.