[SCAM] CoinLocali - Withholding $3,000 in user funds for 2 years

[hamid7400]

I am writing this post to warn the community about my experience with CoinLocali.
My account has been locked, and my funds amounting to $3,000 have been held hostage for 2 years with no resolution or valid explanation.

Details:
- Exchange Name: CoinLocali
- Issue: Account blocked / Withdrawal disabled
- Amount involved: $3,000 USD
- Timeline: I have been trying to resolve this since [ January 2024]
- Status: No response from support / [ They stopped answering my emails]

Despite multiple attempts to contact their support team via [hamdollahihamid2@gmail.com], I have received no meaningful assistance.
Evidence:
https://imgur.com/PdDBxk7
https://imgur.com/xrWRPc6
https://imgur.com/ZOwPP2I
https://imgur.com/l7rKBkf
https://imgur.com/7F5QSWo
https://imgur.com/XGP9Rhp
https://imgur.com/Rxo15NU
https://imgur.com/zZFAMkQ
https://imgur.com/eyOyDEw
https://imgur.com/DNkwacC
https://imgur.com/RouPGD2
4860-bnb-  from ATOMIC WALLET- to coin localy
TXID: https://bscscan.com/tx/0x16610a4f38d38d34bd86c946ef558a66e40b4ec3822158e93cf9a127a6129f10
1111.9 usdt-trx-from Iran- to coin locally
TXID: 590a3409b60f8321f3f7723198934383baeb06dd49ccaa57bc67129791f0c3c2
Usdt-trx- from Iran- to coin locally 296
TXID: 92cbcfc03a895e6eb43a97ba084b26df37151fe9646b090007175602b2044130

[Nathrixxx]

I am only hearing of this exchange for the first time, it may be because it was not located in my own region and many could not have access to it either from where I live, however, it feels bad to have such an experience: having your coins held by a platform without any explanation of why they are doing so.

I can remember vividly that this forum is one of the platforms that always warns members not to have their assets in custodial storage because of incidents like this that have happened and that will always be, non-custodial storage is one of the most preferred means to always secure our assets if we want a third party to exercise control over them, not your keys not your coins.

[JeromeTash]

Posting your email address in a public forum is probably a risky move that you should never do. You are exposing yourself to social engineering attacks, phishing attacks... among other things. Please edit your post and remove that email address.

Regarding the screenshots you just shared, could you please re-upload them to talking.com and share them? Imgur isn't as friendly as it used to be.

Your case is over 2 years and having a client wait for that long is quite absurd.

[hosemary]

OP, you need to edit the exchange name in both title and post content. It's Coinlocally, not CoinLocali.

Your case is over 2 years and having a client wait for that long is quite absurd.

According to the reviews posted on Trustpilot, many people are having the same issue as the OP and have had their accounts locked for months.

[Itz-prisigold]

If everything actually happened just the way you have described, then it's very hard to justify keeping a user's funds locked for two good years with very little or no communication at all.  If there is a compliance check or other problem, then the exchange should clearly explain what the problem is, and what the user should do to fix it the issue.  For me, giving someone a silent treatment only creates distrust.

Meanwhile, I would suggest that anyone trading on smaller exchanges should take all their money out of the exchange when they have finished trading rather than leaving large amounts of money on the exchange.  This type of situation is a reminder that it is always risky to trust an exchange with coins.

[hosemary]

Meanwhile, I would suggest that anyone trading on smaller exchanges should take all their money out of the exchange when they have finished trading rather than leaving large amounts of money on the exchange. 

Better: Don't use such unknown exchanges at all.
If the exchange is a scam and wants to steal your funds, they don't need you to keep your funds for a long time there. All they need is that you make a deposit.

[rat03gopoh]

What do these transaction sources mean?

1111.9 usdt-trx-from Iran- to coin locally
~

Usdt-trx- from Iran- to coin locally 296

By the way, have you read their terms of service, especially the "restricted users category" section?

We strictly prohibit the use of our platform by individuals, institutions, or entities located in or associated with FATF high-risk jurisdictions or sanctioned countries (including but not limited to North Korea, Iran, Syria, and others as defined by OFAC, UN, or EU lists).

https://www.coinlocally.com/en_US/terms#:~:text=,4.%20FATF,-Compliance%20%26%20Sanction%20Screening

Most global exchanges refuse deposits from users based in conflict-prone regions. I wonder if that's why your funds were frozen (I suspect so).

[Itz-prisigold]

Meanwhile, I would suggest that anyone trading on smaller exchanges should take all their money out of the exchange when they have finished trading rather than leaving large amounts of money on the exchange. 

Better: Don't use such unknown exchanges at all.
If the exchange is a scam and wants to steal your funds, they don't need you to keep your funds for a long time there. All they need is that you make a deposit.

You're absolutely right, if the exchange has been established with the sole purpose of defrauding users right from the start, then they don't have to wait for months or years to defraud anyone of their money. Immediately you deposit your coins into their platform, then your funds is practically at their mercy.

The tricky part is, not all scams are easy to spot. Some platforms seem legit at the beginning, make you go through the withdrawal process for a while and gain your trust before issues begin to arise. Which is why it's best to choose trusted exchanges and always avoid leaving big amount of money in any exchange.

[yhiaali3]

If you sent USDT from a centralized service that shows you're from Iran, you were most likely blocked for that reason.
if you sent USDT from non-custodial Tron wallet, they won't know you're from Iran because your IP address doesn't appear in Tron network transactions.

In any case, since they stopped responding to your emails two years ago, I regret to say that your assets have been lost. Using centralized platforms, especially for countries with problems like Iran, is a big mistake.
You need to be more careful in the future.

[LoyceV]

@OP: you can't really expect registered companies to violate EU/US sanctions.
@OP: some of your imgur.com links don't work.

https://imgur.com/XGP9Rhp

I can't read it, but does this mean the site's support speaks the language from a banned region?

[hosemary]

@OP: you can't really expect registered companies to violate EU/US sanctions.

When it comes to the exchange in question, they enforce those sanctions only when people want to withdraw their funds.

I just contacted their live support and asked whether people from Iran are allowed to use their service.
See their response.

[JeromeTash]

When it comes to the exchange in question, they enforce those sanctions only when people want to withdraw their funds.

I just contacted their live support and asked whether people from Iran are allowed to use their service.
See their response.

Now that's quite a twist. They use KYC to trap user funds. They kind of remind me of HitBTC. I would prefer if an exchange was upfront about the sanctioned countries and all that by not even allowing one to deposit if they were from a certain jurisdiction that is banned

In fact, I have even seen some exchanges allow users to withdraw their funds but then lock/delete the account afterwards.

[rat03gopoh]

https://imgur.com/XGP9Rhp

I can't read it, but does this mean the site's support speaks the language from a banned region?

It's likely a Perso-Arabic script, The OP may be from Iran but Support doesn't necessarily come from restricted regions. The script is also used for several Arabic-derived languages ​​in countries surrounding Iran that aren't blacklisted or considered high-risk by the platform's terms.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_alphabet
www.knowyourcountry.com/information-centre/fatf-aml-list/

I just contacted their live support and asked whether people from Iran are allowed to use their service.
See their response.

I did the same thing...


Support takes a few minutes to write each reply. I think they're writing carefully.

[hosemary]

Support takes a few minutes to write each reply. I think they're writing carefully.

They are trying to scam as many users as possible.
The support claims that "Account restrictions are unrelated to users' nationalities" even though they have listed several countries as restricted in their terms.

Of course, I don't think only users from restricted countries are affected. They probably scam people from all over the world.

[owlcatz]

just the fact it can be accessed from the usa raises red flags for me lol.. wher is the company listed/located?

[LoyceV]

wher is the company listed/located?

Without giving them a backlink to their site, I'll quote them:

2020: the Republic of Armenia
2024: Relocated corporate structure to the Union of the Comoros to solidify its legal standing and obtain full international regulatory status

Right. "Full international regulatory status" from a small African island. That alone is enough reason to avoid them.