I would like to check if an online bank is legit. It is a Astroibank. I cannot find anything online and I have some money that was supposed to have been sent there. The bank is asking me to pay a lot of money for a COT code but to a bitcoin wallet. I am not sure about the bank. Does anyone know of it or how to check it?
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1What is an Astroibank?– RonJohnCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 15:42
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7This is clearly a scam. Their website does not have any contact info or details about locations. The "links" to terms of use and privacy policy for the website do not actually link to anything. Their search button doesn't do anything.– EricCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 15:57
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4It's a well-known ridiculous scam. (They use any number of bank "names".)– FattieCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 18:53
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5Does this answer your question? I was asked for a COT code to transfer money to my account. Is this a scam?– Jerome ViveirosCommented Jun 6, 2021 at 16:45
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4 Answers
- There is no legitimate reason for anyone to send money to you at a bank you don't have an account at
- There is no legitimate bank that is going to ask you to pay money in order to access money you have there. They might charge a fee for the transfer but that would come out of the transferred funds.
- No legitimate bank is going to ask you to make payments to a bitcoin wallet
You could certainly spend time and effort looking up a bank with the regulators of whatever country the bank operates in. And if there is a legitimate bank by that name, then spend time and effort trying to determine whether the people you're talking to actually associated with that legitimate bank. But given the hallmarks of a scam, it isn't worth the effort.
answered Jun 3, 2021 at 15:48
I just Googled "COT code", and you probably won't like it.
The C.O.T. code stands for Cost of Transfer, which is allegedly needed to complete questionable international wire transfers, but please be wary, as this is most likely a scam.
All banks have a substantial online presence.
Also all banks must be registered. For example, here is the list of banks and financial institutions in my country.
If either of the above are not true then the "bank" is unquestionably a scam.
answered Jun 3, 2021 at 15:45
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1Not all banks have a substantial online presence, but the ones with little or no online presence tend to be boutique banks used by the mega-wealthy.– ceejayozCommented Jun 4, 2021 at 12:44
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1And a scam banking website can use the name of a real and trustworthy bank instead of using a made-up name. Like there are lots of scams about employment that use the names of real and trustworthy companies but are totally unrelated to them. Commented Jun 4, 2021 at 14:16
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@ceejayoz When I went through the list of Canadian banks, even the ones I had never heard of had a substantial online presence. Commented Jun 4, 2021 at 14:50
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@DJClayworth There's a reason these sorts of banks tend to locate themselves in places like the Caribbean or Monaco instead of Canada.– ceejayozCommented Jun 4, 2021 at 14:52
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I had opened an account at that bank (AstroiBank) and was sent money there.– girlCommented Jun 7, 2021 at 17:16
The most simplest way to check if a bank is legit, is to search your governments directory of registered banks.
For example;
- Hong Kong's Government's list of registered/licensed banks
- India's official list of registered/licensed banks
These can be easily found with a google search like "India list of registered banks", and find the government supplied site
Another effective way to find out if a bank is legit is look for mistakes in English/spelling/grammar. Often these fake sites are made in a rush by non-native speakers of English. Plus, real banks will invest a lot of money in making sure that their English is flawless. (Applies to other languages as well, e.g. if your bank language is Spanish, French etc etc)
