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And people say crypto is a scam. The truth is trust no banks—I had Mercury Bank and First Republic help someone steal over $120,000 from me—I'm not kidding! T

by breck 4y ago

And people say crypto is a scam. The truth is trust no banks—I had Mercury Bank and First Republic help someone steal over $120,000 from me—I'm not kidding! Trust no one-distribute your money in lots of places so if one is crooked you are not dead.

marcosdumay 4y ago
If crypto worked, had a stable valuation, and low transaction tariffs, it would be a very valuable thing. But the people creating and maintaining crypto wants neither of the above, because they all detract from its value as a scam.
- breck 4y ago
  > If crypto worked I have never had a problem sending someone crypto (I'll admit though, offramping can be a b*tch). I often lose hours of my life on hold with banks when they block a payment and/or freeze an account for a regular transaction. > low transaction tariffs If you avoid BTC and ETH and use something like XLM or NEAR you can get dirt cheap fees and fast settlement times. > stable valuation Yes I 100% agree with you there. > But the people creating and maintaining crypto I would agree with you and say perhaps between 30% and 90% of people creating and maintaining crypto only care about short term gains, but I'm an optimist and think the minority that believes in it will triump in the end.
latchkey 4y ago
Spread out is key. Franchise Tax Board of California felt like I owed them taxes (which I didn't) and emptied one of my bank accounts without even giving any advance notice. Luckily it was a smaller one. A year later and I still haven't gotten my funds back, even after having my accountant spend hours on the phone with them and them promising to give it back. And you're right... people on this site time and again keep going after crypto as being a horrible scam... yet they keep on using Paypal. Well, if you hate crypto so much, what would be a better solution to the Paypal problem? Op posted this before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30269141 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30269141
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  > And you’re right… people on this site time and again keep going after crypto as being a horrible scam… yet they keep on using Paypal. I go on about (most) crypto(-related things) being a horrible scam (because it is) and also have avoided PayPal since very early in its existence, except in the very rare instances where a business for which there is no alternative requires it, which I’ve run into exactly once in the last decade (was a more common problem in the early 00s.) The world isn’t a dichotomy between crypto and PayPal.
  - latchkey 4y ago
    > which I’ve run into exactly once in the last decade anecdotal evidence isn't really worth much, sorry. there is a reason why this story is trending on HN 5 months after the op originally got banned. it is because this keeps happening over and over again to untold numbers of people. the thread is full of endless amounts of similar complaints. you're here responding to the comments at the bottom of the page. you can choose to ignore all of that and make it personal to your experience, or you can listen to the warnings and try to find solutions that help others beyond just yourself. > The world isn’t a dichotomy between crypto and PayPal. really, because you said so?
- breck 4y ago
  > Franchise Tax Board of California felt like I owed them taxes (which I didn't) and emptied one of my bank accounts without even giving any advance notice. Luckily it was a smaller one. A year later and I still haven't gotten my funds back, even after having my accountant spend hours on the phone with them and them promising to give it back. Ugh, sorry to hear you are going through this. It's astonishing how incompetent (and/or corrupt) some organizations with power are. Anyway, more fuel for my fire to make things better.

by breck 4y ago

marcosdumay 4y ago

If crypto worked, had a stable valuation, and low transaction tariffs, it would be a very valuable thing. But the people creating and maintaining crypto wants neither of the above, because they all detract from its value as a scam.

breck 4y ago
> If crypto worked I have never had a problem sending someone crypto (I'll admit though, offramping can be a b*tch). I often lose hours of my life on hold with banks when they block a payment and/or freeze an account for a regular transaction. > low transaction tariffs If you avoid BTC and ETH and use something like XLM or NEAR you can get dirt cheap fees and fast settlement times. > stable valuation Yes I 100% agree with you there. > But the people creating and maintaining crypto I would agree with you and say perhaps between 30% and 90% of people creating and maintaining crypto only care about short term gains, but I'm an optimist and think the minority that believes in it will triump in the end.

latchkey 4y ago

Spread out is key. Franchise Tax Board of California felt like I owed them taxes (which I didn't) and emptied one of my bank accounts without even giving any advance notice. Luckily it was a smaller one. A year later and I still haven't gotten my funds back, even after having my accountant spend hours on the phone with them and them promising to give it back. And you're right... people on this site time and again keep going after crypto as being a horrible scam... yet they keep on using Paypal. Well, if you hate crypto so much, what would be a better solution to the Paypal problem? Op posted this before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30269141 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30269141

dragonwriter 4y ago
> And you’re right… people on this site time and again keep going after crypto as being a horrible scam… yet they keep on using Paypal. I go on about (most) crypto(-related things) being a horrible scam (because it is) and also have avoided PayPal since very early in its existence, except in the very rare instances where a business for which there is no alternative requires it, which I’ve run into exactly once in the last decade (was a more common problem in the early 00s.) The world isn’t a dichotomy between crypto and PayPal.
- latchkey 4y ago
  > which I’ve run into exactly once in the last decade anecdotal evidence isn't really worth much, sorry. there is a reason why this story is trending on HN 5 months after the op originally got banned. it is because this keeps happening over and over again to untold numbers of people. the thread is full of endless amounts of similar complaints. you're here responding to the comments at the bottom of the page. you can choose to ignore all of that and make it personal to your experience, or you can listen to the warnings and try to find solutions that help others beyond just yourself. > The world isn’t a dichotomy between crypto and PayPal. really, because you said so?
breck 4y ago
> Franchise Tax Board of California felt like I owed them taxes (which I didn't) and emptied one of my bank accounts without even giving any advance notice. Luckily it was a smaller one. A year later and I still haven't gotten my funds back, even after having my accountant spend hours on the phone with them and them promising to give it back. Ugh, sorry to hear you are going through this. It's astonishing how incompetent (and/or corrupt) some organizations with power are. Anyway, more fuel for my fire to make things better.