Quote from: manfred on June 24, 2014, 12:20:54 PM

Bitfinix has a virtual office in Hong Kong thats the address: Room 1601, 16th Floor, The Sun's Group Centre, 200 Gloucester Rd, Hong Kong it a Proxy Management Consultants firm. To my knowledge it is run from some garage somewhere in France and its doggy as fuck.
Looking at the number of exchanges which have run away with customers funds over the years not only the once from Hong Kong listed above, its a given that you gona to get goxxed with this douchebags, its only a matter of time.

It is not easy to spot a scammer, because the first requirement for that "profession" is to sound and look respectable to the eyes of the intended victims, whether they be old pensioners or computer nerds.

One way to protect against scammers is to know their identity and check their background for prior scams, lawsuits, failed enterprises, etc. If the guy wants to remain anonymous, subtract 500 points.

Another way is to make sure that the guy can go to jail if he scams you. If the contracts has some "small" holes (like "if X does not work out, we will do as we see fit" or "we promise to try" etc.), assume that the guy will go through them. If the contract leaves some room for interpretation, assume that he will interpret it in the way that maximizes his profit, not yours. If the company is registered in a country where you cannot prosecute them, subtract 500 points. If the company is not regulated, subtract another 500 points. If it is not audited by professional auditor, or delays due audits, subtract another 500 points. and so on.

There are other symptoms that a scam is in progress, and we have seen them all in MtGOX, months before if finally closed. The guy starts avoiding customers, gives evasive reassurances that all is well, promises that full answers to their questions will be provided "soon", gives excuses that cannot be verified, throws the blame on others and presents himself as victim, gets angry at those who insist on asking... But by this stage the scam is usually done...