Bitcoin pulse, guides and news: I Got Scammed by the Cryptocurrency Exchange EZBTC.CA

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

I Got Scammed by the Cryptocurrency Exchange EZBTC.CA

I wanted to make this post of my experience as a warning to others, especially Canadians as they have limited buying options when investing (speculating) into cryptocurrencies. I understand the subject of cryptocurrencies are polarizing to many, but nonetheless, it's an emerging asset class that deserves discussion because there are many ways to lose your funds. This isn't the fault of cryptocurrencies themselves, but the result of user error, outright scams, social engineering, hacks, or in my case not being up-to-date on current events.

There are many scams in cryptocurrencies, but shady exchanges are a classic dating back to the legendary Mt. Gox hack where 850,000 Bitcoins were stolen (worth approximately $4.6 billion at the time of this writing). Or the most recent Canadian QuadrigaCX exchange hack where the CEO allegedly died in India carrying the only private key to 200 million worth of customer funds.

It seems that exchange hacks keep propping up in the news, so why then do they keep happening even in 2019? Because users are left with limited choices if they want to acquire cryptocurrency in the safest (ironic) and most convenient manner. In order to buy cryptocurrency, you first have to exchange it for fiat currency (USD, CAD, EUR). You could buy cryptocurrency from one of those Bitcoin ATMs you see at the mall but the fees are exorbitant and quite a few require ID as it is, so why not just sign up for an exchange instead? The next option is to buy them peer-to-peer in person for cash, but people feel unsafe dealing with strangers and large amounts of money. Further, liquidity would be an issue. This led to a boom of many cryptocurrency exchanges offering customers a place to buy and sell with the exchanges acting as the middle-man between users.

I've been away from cryptocurrency for a while and only came back recently. I've used the EZBTC exchange in the past without issues and decided I would use them again. What I didn't do upon my return was my homework on any updates/news regarding this exchange which resulted in my ordeal now. I noticed the website had an overhaul that now includes an express option for you to receive faster withdrawals if you deposited larger amounts (first red flag). I opted for the regular option I always used in the past and sent a small amount via eTransfer that was deposited in my account almost immediately (second red flag). In the past, my eTransfers regardless of amount took some time and up to many hours. Nonetheless, I made a purchase and initiated a withdrawal request that still hasn't been sent out to this day, and I am not the only one.

A condensed version of my story is that I got worried about my pending withdrawal with EZBTC and my emails/calls went unanswered. The live chat on their website was also disabled. I decided to tweet my situation to @ezBtcCanada and immediately got an email from the owner David Smillie himself urgently telling me to call him on a personal number. He deverified and suspended my account as a result of my tweets @tokenflair for "security reasons". After some talk (me saying I'll delete the tweets) he immediately reactivated and reverified my account again and said that my withdrawal will be taken care of the next day.

Fast forward to the next day and my withdrawal is still pending. Calls/texts/email go unanswered again. Live chat is still disabled. I proceed to send another tweet instead. Like clockwork, I get a response from David shortly after and he was livid. He threatened to sue me for defamation if I continued posting about my situation on public forums. I told him I'll be waiting for his letter. He stated that my account would be receiving a lifetime ban and I will not be receiving my withdrawal but I would get an eTransfer refund in 30 days, and all this information would be included in an email I was supposed to receive on Monday April 22, 2019. I still have not received any such email, and my emails/call/texts to him are again being ignored. The saga continues.

The most important piece of advice I can give when it comes to cryptocurrency is that what's true today, is not true tomorrow. You must stay up-to-date on current events in cryptocurrency because your investment could be at stake. In my case, EZBTC was exhibiting red flags and had many user complaints that I would have seen had I just done some research prior to sending my money. I was not up-to-date regarding the status of this "exchange".

David Smillie (owner of ezbtc.ca) operating under business # 1081627 B.C LTD. currently has 5 ongoing lawsuits against his company for unpaid funds:

File number: 1812420 - GOLDLUST, Joseph v 1081627 B.C. LTD. - Supreme Civil (General)
File number: 1963965 - ROBERTS, John v 1081627 B.C. LTD. - Provincial Small Claims
File number: 172818 - GODWIN, Richard v 1081627 BC LTD - Supreme Civil (General)
File number: 18104 - MCCALLUM, Evan v 1081627 BC LTD - Provincial Small Claims
File number: 1862507 - WONG, Gary v 1081627 BC LTD. - Provincial Small Claims