Quote from: Milly8890 on February 09, 2022, 02:20:49 AM

I'm from the states and have been using a betting website to do some light sports betting. They do not allow US citizens and so I used a VPN to gain access. They only require an email address to create an account, and no KYC unless you want to buy crypto directly from them. I will not name the site for various reasons.

Anyways, sometimes I try to login to the site before setting my VPN and it simply tells me I'm in a restricted area. Never had any issues though, I just flip on the VPN and all good. I've been using this site for about 2 months now. Today I logged in and and it was requesting I input my phone number to proceed. It said I can withdraw funds but services were restricted until I enter my phone number. So I created a fake number from Hong Kong, and entered it in. It sent me a code and I entered it. Little did I know Hong Kong is also banned from this site (I know I know, I was just in a hurry to place a bet). Now my account is locked and they will not allow me access to even withdraw until I go through full KYC.

I have about $1,200 of BTC in there, nothing crazy. If I KYC myself they will simply say I broke their TOS and lock me out forever (I did the research on this already). KYC consists of ID, recent bills, and photo of yourself holding ID. The only piece of information this site has on me is an email address.

I have friends who have friends in other countries. Some of those friends of friends live in impoverished countries. What's stopping me from using them to KYC my account and then giving them a piece of the stuck funds? I would only need to gain access to retrieve the funds and would not continue to use the account or website.

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

That really, really sucks.

I think that your best shot is to honestly own up to your mistake and see if they will budge. Usually, with such a small amount of funds, I don't think that there will be an issue with you getting your funds out.

Just remember for next time though that you want to play on sites that have clear no KYC policies. KYC is a double edged sword - it can very easily be abused.