I’ll start with the background.
I was trying to help the Firo community by checking different swaps through different swap providers (Transitioning Monero (XMR) to Firo exchange challenges. No support! - #11 by frustratedramp). My small research showed there’s a limited number of swap providers that genuinely support firo even more so with spark support.
I shifted some monero profits (as it was pumping) to Firo while I was doing all of these checks for the community. You can see the topic for the disastrous results of that and reasoning.
Now of course i wanted to switch back Firo to monero and some in btc as i did think they would go up. First i did Firo to monero. Boy was I in for a ride…
I used swapspace co for firo to monero… low and behold there is only one provider for firo to monero - changelly. I was hesitant but I had no choice i was forced to do that swap.
I did as @reuben suggested some swap providers might not accept from shielded/spark addresses. I switched it from spark to clear address. I sent from the clear address to the provided address. I checked back on the transaction and transaction was on hold…
Swapspace provided no effort or support to contact changelly they only referred me to their compliance team. Such aggregators seem to be good only for showing you pairs, you actually get better rate going to the website itself directly.
Changelly wasn’t of help either. They requested KYC and AML. Now at this point in this story you might ask why not do KYC and AML? What’s the big deal?
Well… almost 6 years ago I sent my documents to an exchange. Months later someone applied for loans credit cards and maxed it out including changing my phone number and basically left me financially ruined. It took years for me to recover step by step. That’s why I use instant swap services unless i purchase from my bank account directly on big exchanges. Before the incident I only had shown my passport to my bank and in person many years ago. This means the leak happened from the exchange. That’s why I’m not doing it again.
I have a mortgage and family to support I can’t relive that nightmare and risk having my data stolen again, simply can’t. I’m also puzzled why the transaction would have been stopped. Firo has no blockchain analytics. Monero has no blockchain analytics. The amount was less than $5,000 below the travel rule. I made the exchange from my home IP no vpns or tor or mobile data. Which means there’s no leg for your KYC or AML policy to stand on.
Now i’m stuck do I enter the documents rabbit hole and risk my life ruined and my family on the street for almost $5000 or do i take this as a major loss and cautionary tale for me and others? Tough choice.
I only wanted to share this story with all of you not for sympathy but not to trust Changelly and don’t expect anything from aggregators except taking a bigger cut from the exchange.
The other reason I wanted to share it is because Firo really needs firo<>xmr swaps and firo<>other coin swaps that aren’t through BNB, ETH or other networks where the power of Firo is removed. This is a major major problem as we can’t rely on thiefs like Changelly to be the sole provider of such swaps… take my story or read their trustpilot reviews take your pick!
