Consumer complaint received 2022-03-22
Company: Blockchain.com, Inc.
State: GA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I'm writing to you as I can't resolve an issue with Blockchain.com service, however I tried a lot. They are a Money Transmitter, Licensed by TXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. 

I while ago I opened a BTC Wallet ( in XXXX ) by downloading Blockchain.com app to my XXXX and transferred about 0.2 BTC. In XXXX when I bought new phone and was transferring data, I was not able to remember my password to my Blockchain account, so I created a new wallet ( on the same email ) and transferred btc on my new phone. Later I realised that if I will lose my phone, my BTC will be lost as well, so I completed all possible verifications ( phone number, email ) without uploading docs and created 12 word recovery phrase for a wallet. I never used password on my phone, as Blockchain.com app has a nice feature to access wallet using 4-digit pin code, so password is never needed. 

Before XX/XX/XXXX I lived in XXXX, and after, me and my family moved to XXXX, XXXX Till the middle of XXXX I'm staying a tax resident of XXXX XXXX and becoming US tax resident in XX/XX/XXXX ( by US XXXX and also Belarus law ). 

In XXXX after XXXX  crisis I decided to send some BTC to XXXX 's wallet, but founded out, that Blockchain.com app allows me to send only $ XXXX annually, which is too low amount for me. I decided to complete full verification and uploaded my XXXX  driving licence. They approved Gold status in about 10 minutes and I've been able to send money to XXXX Gov using address listed here https : XXXX In a couple days I decided to send some money to my XXXX XXXX  account, so I registered on XXXXXXXX XXXX the same company ) and also uploaded my Belarusian documents there. They given me Gold status on Exchange  and I was able to exchange some BTC to USD. However, then I realised that there is no option to withdraw money to a bank account and after some search I found some links going to support.blockchain.com. The content of these links was available only to registered users but XXXX  password did not work. For blockchain.com I didn't remember password, as on a phone I always been using 4-digit pin, so I used reset feature with 12-word recovery phrase and reset my account successfully. Also, I did not pay attention that on my PC, I had VPN enabled during this time. 

After I made a password reset my account was partly locked and any withdrawals from Exchange.Blockchain account were disabled, also I got email that my account is now in manual review. Again, I've used reset feature for Blockchain.com acc, not Exchain.Blockchain.com account, but still, the withdrawals from Exchain.Blockchain.com to even my Blockchain.com BTC wallet was blocked. Also I got an email questioning if I used VPN, I said yes and provided all details they asked for. 

Also I contacted support via Chat agent right away and explained the situation that I would like to withdraw money to XXXX XXXX account, and that besides XXXX documents I also have US documents, but I'm not a tax resident yet and it was unclear for me which documents should I had uploaded while verification. He said that there is nothing to worry about, and this manual review won't take long and after review they will help me to re-register, so I have and option to withdraw money to XXXX XXXX account. It's already a week and I contact them every day regarding this manual review, and they keep saying me that my case has been escalated to appropriate department but nothing really happens. They keep saying the same thing all the time and never give me an exact estimate how long this process can takes. 
All I got from them are two emails with subject " ACTION REQUIRED : Verify your identity to continue trading '', but when I press a link and log in to XXXX  I still don't see any ability to upload any documents or answer any questions they may have and that my account has Gold status, but it's still in manual review. Support said that this is automatic message, and my case is not handled by appropriate department yet. 

I ask you for help, as this looks like a scam for me and guys just want to keep my money ( about XXXX USD ) after they saw that I have connection to XXXX and don't have any protection on their service.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation