r/PersonalFinanceZA • u/Flashy_Percentage424 • 4d ago
Crypto Luno account emptied without any notifications
My Luno account was emptied without any warning or notification, and I’m trying to understand how this could have happened.
I made my last deposit on 6 January. Then, on 7 February, all of my Bitcoin was transferred out of my account. I received no email, SMS, or push notification, and none of Luno’s security features were triggered.
I actually hadn’t logged into my Luno account for quite some time because Bitcoin had dropped significantly, so I just left it alone. Then yesterday, I logged in and noticed my Bitcoin wallet showed a balance of R0. At first, I thought it was a display error, but after investigating further, I saw that all of my Bitcoin had been withdrawn back in February.
I checked my email thoroughly for any login alerts, withdrawal confirmations, password reset requests, or security notifications, but there was absolutely nothing.
What makes this even stranger is:
- I never lost access to my account
- None of my devices appear to have been compromised
- I can still access my account normally
- There were no login alerts or withdrawal confirmations
- No security checks or authentication prompts were triggered
From my side, it looks like the withdrawal happened without any visible authentication challenge or notification. At this point, my main concern is whether there could have been some form of compromise on Luno’s side, because I cannot explain how funds could be withdrawn without triggering any security measures.
Has anyone else experienced something similar or know what actions I should take? I’ve already reached out to Luno support, but so far I’ve only received the usual responses asking me to check whether the issue could have been on my side.
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u/hjjs 4d ago
Op, this is for sure not a Reddit question. Get Luno involved, and/or police
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
Already contacted Luno support but since it's crypto. How do i prove anything? My next step would to log a complaint at the FSCA since Luno is registered as a financial service.
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u/No-Dragonfly8326 3d ago
They will have advanced records of what IP address, application and device type initiated the withdrawal. They should be able to provide info, it sounds like a serious security issue.
How much was in there?
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
I hope so too. I’m still waiting for a response after their initial reply yesterday afternoon.
It’s not a huge amount, but it’s still money that was taken — just over R12k at the current bitcoin value.
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u/hjjs 3d ago
Hi, first off I'm sorry this is happening. These things are scary AF.
I work in FinTech and know how many hoops exchanges have to jump through to register as a provider in SA. They should have logs showing requests for each interaction for your profile and they should have a view of what was in your profile vs what is there now. Right now I would suggest downloading a statement as proof.
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u/my_friend_miyaguchi 4d ago
Luno has great customer support + fraud support. If your situation is legit, they will surely help you.
Agreed with other comment, not a Reddit question at all.
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
I hope you're right. So far I've only received very generic replies from them. Will obviously log a complaint at the FSCA if i dont get anywhere.
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u/my_friend_miyaguchi 3d ago
They've definitely dealt with fraud before, just try to get follow your ticket, and see where it goes. They usually get back after 24-48 hours.
Good luck, OP.
Remember, not your keys, not your crypto. Luno provide a solid structure, but at the end of the day, don't keep your crypto on exchanges.
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u/theresazuluonmystoep 4d ago
Luno is an exchange. Never keep your money in an exchange. Always keep it in a wallet that ONLY YOU control
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u/helloserve 4d ago
That will be illegal soon, won't it?
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u/theresazuluonmystoep 4d ago
Where did you hear that?
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u/TheMetalPrince 3d ago
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u/theresazuluonmystoep 3d ago
Aha. What i gather from the article is holding crypto in your own wallet would not be outright illegal. Sending from your wallet to someone else's wallet will only be illegal if above a yet to be determined threshold.
Makes sense for money laundering purposes, but this is still a draft only.
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u/TheMetalPrince 3d ago
You have to declare how much you have as well, when entering ports of entry as well etc
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u/zombii-nyan 3d ago
Do you have the withdrawal transaction ID and withdrawal address? Maybe start there as a way to track the funds and to give the authorities the lead on where the money moved and to whom.
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
Jip, I do. I traced the Bitcoin transactions. The funds were moved to one wallet, then almost immediately transferred again to another wallet, and then eventually consolidated into a much larger wallet that appears to contain funds from many other transactions as well. Below is the final wallet address.
bc1qns9f7yfx3ry9lj6yz7c9er0vwa0ye2eklpzqfw
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u/zombii-nyan 3d ago
There is a law enforcement and victim support contact email addresses that you might be able to try. Check their support page: https://ff.io/support
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u/zombii-nyan 3d ago
Apparently this address is associated with the FixedFloat cryptocurrency exchange, which also seems to have lax KYC requirements...
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u/PriorScreen7613 2d ago
FYI https://x.com/CyversAlerts/status/1759232565989314917
This wallet keeps popping up in a google search. Almost certainly a know criminal's wallet
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u/EmotionalDonut5703 3d ago
OP ask in cryptoscam sub instead
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
Will do. I assumed this might be related to a South African financial institution, since Luno is a registered FSP..
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u/Valley_Lilly_12 3d ago
There should be a transaction logged if it was through Luno, it would have the wallet account number that it was transferred to
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u/Flashy_Percentage424 3d ago
I traced the Bitcoin transactions. The funds were moved to one wallet, then almost immediately transferred again to another wallet, and then eventually consolidated into a much larger wallet that appears to contain funds from many other transactions as well. So it is pretty much a deadend. Below is the final wallet address.
bc1qns9f7yfx3ry9lj6yz7c9er0vwa0ye2eklpzqfw
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u/ShipMysterious7602 3d ago
There is a page showing your login's at Luno if not mistaken. Check that.
Also, as far as I know Luno blocks and send actions on your account if you have not made any withdrawals/send transactions in the past 90 days. Just got an email the day before yesterday notifying me that all sending on my account was disabled due to no activity over past 90 days. Ask Luno about that.
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u/Full_Cost1352 3d ago
I’m very familiar with Luno’s infrastructure. If the compromise was their side (unlikely, but hypothetically), there would be an investigation and quick resolution in your favor.
The most likely scenario by far is that your linked email and account was compromised a while ago.
Log it with support and escalate, escalate, escalate - to the point that you’re on a call with them. They have ALL the logs and will try avoid giving too much information. Keep asking for more until it makes sense.
edit: if it doesn’t make sense, go the route of complaints@luno.com
You’ll receive a human investigation and thorough response in a reasonable amount of time
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u/tiedye-pjs-321 2d ago
Experienced similar unfortunately. Hackers got in to a pc via fake Luno desktop app, which they used to get login deets to then add their phone as a trusted device. Then went to the mail accounts and blocked Luno emails so no notifications came thru. They also added themselves to all my profiles - Google, Samsung, Microsoft etc...
Check your email settings (rules, blocks, etc), check "my devices" across everything. Reformat all devices.
Sorry!!
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u/tw33zd 4d ago
Lol scammer got scammed
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u/DizzyConsequence9330 3d ago
Are you daft? How did you come to this conclusion
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u/tw33zd 3d ago
Not as daft to keep crypto in wallet exchange platform
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u/No-Dragonfly8326 3d ago
Hitting us hard with the evidence there
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u/tw33zd 3d ago
And who do you think mostly uses crypto becuse of the lack of traceability?
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u/No-Dragonfly8326 3d ago
Like everyone I know ?
What is your actual theory about what happened?
Because his crypto was on an exchange he’s a scammer?
Because he uses crypto he’s a scammer?
You are saying very little while claiming conclusion.
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u/polymath2046 3d ago
OP is a scammer?
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u/tw33zd 3d ago
Reaks of crypto scam
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u/polymath2046 3d ago
Buying crypto on a registered exchange and using their wallet is hardly a scam. That's all we really know about how they used the platform, in addition to the fact that there was unauthorised access to their account.
How did you leap to the 'scammer' suspicions from this info?
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