$25,000 Stolen From Scam Victim’s Binance.US Account
Victim’s Complaints Ignored & Sent to PissedConsumer.com for Resolution
A 25-year-old young woman, who suffers from depression, was ripped off by an online romance scammer operating out of Lagos, Nigeria.
The scammer promised the victim profits on Bitcoin trades so she would have enough money to buy a home and help her parents. After gaining the victim’s trust, the scammer instructed the victim to set up an account at Binance.US, an online crypto exchange.
The victim sent two wire transfers from her Suntrust Bank account to Binance.US totalling $25,000. Almost instantly, the scammer logged into her account from a different IP address and transferred the full account balance out of her account.
The victim has complained numerous times to Binance.US only to be transferred to PissedConsumer.com for resolution. While waiting for Binance.US and PissedConsumer.com to respond to her complaints, the victim has filed complaints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Commodities Future Trading Commission, and the Better Business Bureau.
The victim also filed a fraud report with SunTrust Bank “who was very helpful and understanding” according to the victim.
The victim believes she “is getting the runaround from Binance.US” and has sent notice to Binance.US of her intent to seek arbitration.
Who is Binance.US?
Binance.US is the US-based offshoot of Binance.com, a crypto exchange facing a money laundering and tax fraud investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Binance is also being investigated by regulatory authorities in Great Britain, Japan, Germany, and Thailand. In the past, Binance served both across the globe and in the US, but it eventually cut off US traders due to regulatory reasons. To cater specifically to US investors, Binance partnered with BAM Trading Services, Inc. to launch Binance.US in 2019. Binance has
Binance.US CEO, Catherine Coley
Victim Sends Notice of Intent To Seek Arbitration Against BAM Trading Services, Inc.
The victim sent notice of her intention to seek arbitration with the American Arbitration Association, as instructed in the Binance.US Terms of Use:
A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send a written notice of the dispute to the other, by certified mail, Federal Express, UPS, or Express Mail (signature required) (“Notice”). BAM’s address for Notice is: BAM Trading Services Inc., Attn: Legal Department, One Letterman Drive, Building C Suite C3-800, San Francisco, California 94129, USA. The Notice must: (1) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (2) set forth the specific relief sought. We agree to use good faith efforts to resolve the claim directly, but if we do not reach an agreement to do so within 30 days after the Notice is received, you or BAM may commence an arbitration proceeding. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by you or BAM shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator makes a final decision and award if any. All documents and information disclosed in the course of the arbitration shall be kept strictly confidential by the recipient and shall not be used by the recipient for any purpose other than for purposes of the arbitration or the enforcement of the arbitrator’s decision and award and shall not be disclosed except in confidence to persons who have a need to know for such purposes or as required by applicable law.
What Has Binance.US Done To Stop This Online Romance Scammer From Accessing Other Accounts
According to the Binance.US Terms of Use:
Unauthorized Transactions. You are solely responsible for the control and use of your Account(s) and any Instruction sent from your Account(s) is deemed to be authorized and is binding on you. We are not obliged to verify the identity or authority of any person(s) using your Account(s) and we shall be at liberty to accept, and rely on, any Instruction sent from your Account(s). Notify us immediately if you notice unauthorized or suspicious activity in your Account(s).
What is the purpose of notifying Binance.US if they don’t intend to protect the integrity of customer accounts?
How difficult is it to track the IP address of a user on their platform?
We are waiting for Binance.US to answer these questions and many more.
