Consumer complaint received 2020-03-12
Company: Payward Ventures Inc. dba Kraken
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Beginning XX/XX/XXXX, several payments were instructed from Kraken, in the total amount of EUR  XXXX ( at today 's value XXXX BTC ). to scam Bitcoin / CFD 's dealer called XXXX. When I was first contacted, I believed they are legitimate investment companies. Had I known it was not, I would not have invested my money with this Company. My  account managers at each company controlled my computer from a distance using software and would push me into opening trades and adding more and more money. I found this unusual, but he convinced me this is how an account is managed personally. I was guaranteed that money will be made by my open trades, which obviously was a lie, as those trades lost. They did not invest my money but just stole it. 
I asked the fraudsters to withdraw all my money, They told me that I lost all my invested money in trades. Additionally, when I demanded to be credited, instead, the scam operator, blocked all my future attempts of contact and completely ceased communications. I also have a reason to believe that Kraken XXXX, although being legit and licensed company, providing services to scammers without verifying the client 's details and making sure the client aware of his actions. Please find the attached proofs of Kraken not being honest with their clients. 
I tried to resolve the issue with Kraken XXXX with no success and I am completely dissatisfied with Kraken services up to this point due to the following reasons : A. On the XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX, I was first lured by the fraud broker Company to transfer money from my Bank to Kraken and from Kraken directly to them. This was following the instruction of the fraudsters since they represented themselves as legitimate brokerage. 
B. On the XX/XX/XXXX, I became aware of the fraud I accidentally got into. I immediately filed a dispute with Kraken and asked them to perform a recall as no service or investment was provided to me by the scam merchant. 
C. At first, the Kraken, Client Scam assist team mentioned I need to change some settings in terms of security before they can proceed ( It seemed to me that Kraken had understood the difficult situation I accidentally got into ). On the XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Kraken a letter that explained my case and provided documents to support my claim. They replied with their final response the very next morning. This was a rapid response which meant they did not try to assist me, or even take my complaint seriously ). 
D. Kraken refused to reimburse me by saying, and I quote : cryptocurrency transactions are designed to be irreversible. I tried to ask Kraken to help me locate the address of where the money went, but they were less willing to help in any case. 
E. Up to this point, I already acted in all ways possible. I have decided to escalate this case further, as no serious response has been received. 
F. I am also concerned by the lack of understanding from the Kraken scam assist staff members I was communicating with. It was well known to the community in the globe that the recipient of the funds was fraudulent, to begin with hence, Kraken offloading all responsibility. And by that proving that they are fraudulent themselves. ( for all we know they could be a money-laundering operation and or a financial terror-supporting organization ). XXXX is an illegal scam operator. 

What is egregious is that I have since found out that there were numerous warnings issued by scam broker investigators, as well as by few other world regulators, warning the financial community against allowing the instruction of payments to this particular merchant : XX/XX/XXXX. How can a scam be considered an investment service? Would Kraken approve payment to money laundering or to XXXX ( terror organization ), if XXXX established a website branded as an investment service? XXXX is either an illegal scam or an investment service. It can not be both.

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation