What happened:: In Dec 2018 I opened an account at crex24.com and was able to deposit and trade ARI and MEC. I regulary tested if I *could* withdraw, but waited until I have enough BTC to make up for the withdrawal fee.
When I recently logged in last week to put some sell orders for above Altcoins I had deposited, I couldn't place any orders or withdraw anything and was presented with a truely worrying KYC procedure asking for a wealth of personal data. I have not received any advanced information or warning from them.
Crex24 wants me/you to submit:
- photo of current ID / driver license
- social media profile (not mandatory, but very much recommended)
- selfie holding ID card used + signature
- two different utility bills, though they seem to prefer credit card and bank statements
- complete address
I was about to bite the bullet, when it came to two different proof of residence documents, at which point I spontaneously wondered with whom I am dealing with here. So being confident that an exchange asking for so much KYC information certainly has a legal address listed on their website I started searching. Turns out they haven't, the best information you can find in their web page is
Our Customer Support Team speaks English and Russian.
(Archived Apr 26 2020:
https://archive.is/aHBBy)
So I mailed support asking for their legal address and received the following reply:
Hello
All information you can find here:
https://crex24.com/aboutHow would you rate my reply?
Good Just ok Not good
Regards,
Crex24 Support Team
After that I demanded that I receive my coins back without KYC which naturally was refused.
Scammers Profile Link: https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/crex24-1113444Reference Link: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/crex24com-cryptocurrency-exchange-official-thread-2101721 (ANN thread for the exchange, locked meanwhile)
Amount Scammed: 0.03066087 BTC (Crex24 account estimate on 23 Apr 2020)
Payment Method: Deposit and trading of altcoins against BTC
Proof of Payment: Deposit address ARI: 5dqQbQsTc5ABKMoDqMSoxyubL6fWcLZ3GD
Link ARI Blockexplorer:
https://chainz.cryptoid.info/ari/address.dws?5dqQbQsTc5ABKMoDqMSoxyubL6fWcLZ3GD.htmDeposit address MEC: MBZRExkE3jHWXQGzbWw2ZamrSJxerfJ48n
Link MEC Blockexplorer:
https://chainz.cryptoid.info/mec/address.dws?MBZRExkE3jHWXQGzbWw2ZamrSJxerfJ48n.htmPM/Chat Logs: >
>
> Hello
>
> Could you please specify your issue?
>
> How would you rate my reply?
> Good Just ok Not good
>
> Regards,
> Crex24 Support Team
The issue is that I am suddenly asked to do KYC with a lot of personal details but crex24 itself is refusing to even display a legally valid business address of themselves.
I have registered my account in Dec 2018 and deposited coins into your exchange under totally different provisions and since I am unwilling to do KYC with an unknown party I am now requesting my balance to be sent to me and my account being closed after that, notably without doing your very much detailed KYC procedure.
>
>>
>> Hello
>>
>> You need to pass the verification. It is needed for security measures.
>>
>> How would you rate my reply?
>> Good Just ok Not good
>>
>> Regards,
>> Crex24 Support Team
> Before I pass verification, I am asking for a registered business address of crex24. You certainly do not expect me to send my sensitive
> documents to a completely unknown entity with no legal responsibility.
Hello
All public information you can see here:https://crex24.com/about
How would you rate my reply?
Good Just ok Not good
Regards,
Crex24 Support Team
The Crex24 replies did not quote my previous mails, I have edited that in for easier understanding. Though the textual content is absolutely unchanged.
Additional Notes: Crex24 asks you for the most detailed KYC that I have ever witnessed (and I've done a few meanwhile), while not even giving you their basic information like a business address. The details of information they request and the lack of detail they are willing to reveal about themselves is deeply worrying and hints to something more sinister.
Flag: I have also raised a flag against Crex24 and would like to ask you to consider it for supporting or opposing:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;flag=1699