Consumer complaint received 2024-08-16 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Payward Ventures Inc. dba Kraken
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Starting in XX/XX/year>, I became a victim of an internet scam scheme in which a company named XXXX misrepresented itself as a professional, legitimate broker and offered me the opportunity to make money from so-called online trading without risk. 
I thought I was on a reputable investing track, but Id like to point out that their practices were illegal, deceitful, non-regulatory, and highly questionable. 
As a result, the scammers forced me to use the services of XXXX and XXXX to take my hard-earned money ( in the total amount of XXXX XXXX ). 
The main person I engaged with during this scam operation was someone who identified as XXXX and claimed to be an account XXXX at XXXX. Our connection was mostly through XXXX and XXXX channels, where XXXX provided guidance and instructions throughout the entire trade process. He also insisted on verifying my identity and frequently offered direct trading advice, all under the pretense of taking part in a collective trading contract with a XXXX XXXX 
Employees at XXXX were disrespectful and repeatedly pushed me to invest more money. They pressed on increasing the amount so that I could have lesser charges and more profit on trading - however, as I later discovered, those enticing techniques were meant to extract as many dollars as possible. My naivety and lack of experience were sophisticatedly exploited- the corporation has never behaved in my best interests, and it was thought I was unfamiliar with the crypto area Transactions with XXXX were mostly made through my XXXXXXXX XXXX account. 
I should mention that I have never utilized any cryptocurrency exchange companies previously. However, things took a fretting turn when I tried to begin making withdrawals from the company. Instead of swiftly facilitating these requests, I received a succession of excuses, unexplained delays, and requests to speak with new personnel ostensibly in charge of arranging deposits. This lengthy absence of contact and failure to address my issues has left me very worried and increasingly persuaded of the scams existence. I am quite concerned about the status and security of my funds, as well as the integrity of the businesses that executed these transactions. 
I raised my concerns and demanded a refund several times as I became more skeptical of the rising demands. Despite repeated requests to withdraw my monies, I was consistently denied and advised that additional fees were required for the withdrawal process. 
After some thought, it became clear that XXXX and XXXX 's promises were false, and I realized that my cash had been illegally stolen by XXXX and XXXX himself. 
After I revealed that I got scammed, I tried resolving the matter directly with XXXX, which was utilized to initiate transfers, but XXXX is not willing to cooperate with me and is not responding to my requests. 
I am requesting that CFPB, as a reputable regulator, intervene in this matter and hold XXXX liable for the situation that happened to me, as my money was sent to the suspicious cryptocurrency wallets under the manipulation of the scam entity, and XXXX failed to prevent these transactions.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation