Consumer complaint received 2021-05-28
Company: Payward Ventures Inc. dba Kraken
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
My crypto currency with XXXX disappeared from my account. Raised tickets with them and still have not received any response. I had filed ticket with them more than 6 weeks ago. The only response I got was thanking me for my patience. 
I had logged in successfully on XX/XX/XXXX and did deposit and purchase transactions and after that had not logged in till on XX/XX/XXXX when I was then informed them that I could not login. 
Company did not share why account was flagged and have not communicated to me this information in any way so at least I can check what is going on. I found that account was locked on XX/XX/XXXX when I tried to login after close to 3 weeks not logging in. No emails were sent about any foreign device logging in or doing any activity. 

I submitted a ticket to unlock account. Company threatened me that in order to unlock my account, I need to send them back a statement that I had reset my computer and phone before they unlock my account which I refused to send them back as I did not have any malware or any issues in my Phone. When they finally gave me access to account, I found that account was depleted from my crypto coins and that on XXXX, transactions were done to sell and transfer all my assets in one single day. 
No any email communications from company about any of the transactions or withdrawals. 

Company let all transactions happen including withdrawal without any verification. When I deposited funds in XX/XX/XXXX and earlier, It took few days and up to a week before they verify deposit and funds could be used to purchase crypto coins including request to send a picture of bank check book with name of account holder so they verify the identity of the account holder doing the deposit. However, company simply let withdrawals happen without confirmation or withholding for a single day. I never linked any banks or otherwise in order to do withdrawal so have never done a single withdrawal. It was not a concern for the company to detect strange device logging in making transactions and withdrawals happen and even let it take place all in a single day. 

Emails were sent to me prior to incident on XXXX and after the incident when deposit, purchases or logging in from my computer happen. On the other hand, no any communications from XXXX on the day of the incident ( XXXX ) about all these activities above.. 

When I filed another ticket to check my assets, company till date did not respond for close to 3 weeks and their live chat support simply tells me that someone will get in touch. 
XXXX is responsible to instate my account back with all the assets ( in crypto coins ) as it had on XX/XX/XXXX before the incident of XXXX. 


Please note the below facts about XXXX Why does XXXX withholds and verifies deposits but not withdrawals? 
Why did the fraudulent transactions on XX/XX/XXXX not generate an e-mail just like the other transactions? 
Why was my account " flagged '' only after I reported that I could not login but not " flagged '' 10 days earlier when fraudulent activities happened? 
Why didn't I receive any communication that my account was locked before I tried to access? 
After I got access, I accessed my account from another computer at home and received an e-mail with a pin ( subject : XXXX XXXX - New Device Approval Required ). Why didn't this happen on XX/XX/XXXX as well? 
Before insinuating that my computer has malware, I would like to add that prior to XX/XX/XXXX I only accessed kraken from my phone and my XXXX account 's security page does not show activity from a different IP address on XX/XX/XXXX, only my Kraken 's account show a different IP on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Why does XXXX insinuate the client has malware but does not consider that their website has serious security issues? 
Aren't financial institutions required to do due diligence regarding withdrawals in order to be compliant with money laundering laws?

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation