Binance.com is a SCAM! BE AWARE!!!
It looks like Binance.com is a SCAM! BE AWARE!!!
PLEASE READ ALL THIS POST TO THE END!!!:
On 21st Jan 2021 I open an account with Binance.com I got verified with ID photo video selfies etc. 2 steps authentication. All done then bought 1 ether and 100 polka dot When I tried to withdraw them to my wallet my account was blocked and I got a message on the screen:"Your account may be at risk. In order to protect the safety of your assets, withdrawals have been temporarily suspended for your account"
I raised a ticket 6458994 with binance but to my surprise I got this message from binance: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"After investigation, we found that the withdraw function was suspended due to the withdrawal risk control. If you cannot pass the self-help process online, please provide us with the following information for the account verification and we are going to help you through the ticket.
Photo verification:
Both sides of your ID card or driver license, or If you would like to provide with your passport, please attach the information page only.
Selfie with ID card, driver license or passport information page.Please record a video, including the following information:
Withdrawal records：Please login to your account and show the withdrawal records in your account.
Communication records：Please show in the video the emails between you and Binance CS via this email.
You also need to appear in the video and hold the information page of your ID document, and repeat clearly the following sentence : "Today is the year/month/day, my account is applying for withdrawal of XXX coins with XXX amount. I confirm that it is my own operation. I am contacting Binance CS to resume the withdrawal function of my Binance account [email protected] "
In addition, if you are able to provide the following information at the same time, it will help to confirm your identity and help speed up the review process.
Security questions:
Account registration date
Account registration IP"
I provided all the videos without the login as I was worried that they can see the lenght of my password but they refused to unlock my account, see below response: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The only part missing was the login, this we would need to determine you are the owner of the account. Could you please retake the video again with recorded information and should be included in your login procedure to Binance.com http://binance.com/ (enter email and password) before showing the records of withdrawal." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, I provided the log in. BUT, I got this: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We have received the video. However, the withdrawals recorded are recorded on a screen recorder and it is not eligible. Request you to retake just the withdrawals and the communications with binance again."
OK, I provided the video again take with the mobile phone, BUT, SINCE, nothing!! Lost communication, no reply! I wrote to them hundreds of times, every day, NOTHING!!!!! I wrote lots of blogs, asked for help, I contacted BINANCE on social media on all available websites, NOTHING! Since then I had no response at all!!! I raised another ticket a few days ago: 7115149, response from binance below:
"For security purposes, please provide us with a copy of your bank statement (in PDF format), which contains your deposit records to your Binance account, so we can review the case and restore the withdrawal to your account. Notes: - The bank statement must be official, a screenshot or Excel file will not be accepted; - Your full name must be on the bank statement; - Please provide bank statements for all cards you have used in your account. Once we receive your information, we will forward it to the appropriate department for further verification and respond to you as soon as possible."
After I provided the statement, NOTHING!!!! NO REPLY!!!! And nothing since 6th Feb!!!!!! I spoke to other people who had the same experience and one other user got the below message from binance after the provided the verification video:
" To further investigate the case, according to our standard procedures, it requires us to collaborate with your local authorities. Therefore, we need your cooperation to file an official report to your local law enforcement agencies and have them reach out to us by submitting a ticket via the link: https://binance.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000762552, using their official email address and attaching the following documentations:"
Local authorities to collaborate with binance to unlock the account??? That's ridiculous, who do they think they are? So, conclusion, so binance is a scam nevertheless!!! There are hundreds of people who are going trough the same SAGA!!!! You open an account, you buy crypto and then NO WITHDRAWLS!! THEY BLOCK YOUR ACCOUNT AND YOU LOOSE THE MONEY!!!!
I contacted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in thge UK and see below their response:
"I understand youve contacted us in relation to your dealings with Binance.com. I note you cannot access or withdraw from your wallet and communication has stopped from them. I fully appreciate this must be an extremely difficult time for you.
Binance.com - unauthorised and potentially a scam firmIve searched the Financial Services Register, which is a public record of firms we authorise and regulate. It also details temporary permission EEA authorised firms and warning pages for unauthorised firms. From the information you have provided, Ive been unable to find an entry for Binance.com which means they are not authorised by the FCA and potentially scammers.
Ive been able to find an entry for Binance Markets Limited who are authorised by the FCA. You may be dealing with individuals who are using the details of this firm to suggest they work for the genuine firm. We call this a cloned firm and is typically a part of a scam.
Were not a dispute resolution body our role & remit
To set your expectations as to our position on this matter, we're responsible for regulating firms in the UK who provide financial services and products in relation to regulated activities (the term we give to the business we allow a firm to do) with regards to their conduct. We're tasked with regulating the UK financial markets and to do this we must remain impartial. This means we are unable to investigate or intervene in individual matters and we dont have dispute resolution powers for individual complaints. As such, this is not a complaint we get directly get involved with if youre seeking an individual outcome to your dealings with the firm. I fully appreciate this is unlikely the outcome you were seeking. I have however provided guidance below which you hopefully find useful.
Next steps
If you believe youve dealt with scammers, youll need to report your dealings to Action Fraud. Action Fraud are linked with the police and are tasked with investigating matters such as financial crime, scams and identity theft. You may also wish to speak with your bank as youve made any payments and your local police in Portugal.
If youve dealt with scammers, youre likely going to be targeted again potentially by a recovery room scam or other scam types. Please find more information on our ScamSmart pages which have useful information on how to avoid scams in the future.
Currently my account shows this: