ChangeHero

Pros: Fast, very simple.

Exchanged approx 10 000 USD with no KYC, but I just withdrew funds from my wallet to my different wallet, cross-chain, and that was it.

The other time I exchanged a significantly larger sum of money and went through the KYC procedure, but it went smooth. Sent over the documents, waited a little and that was it.

Cons: Maybe a design is a bit outdated? I dunno. Risks of KYC are everywhere, if you are dealing with shady money, i guess? Maybe I'm wrong

Overall: In no way I underestimate the experience of the other person, but it's 100% not a scam. I am just speaking from my own experience that I've used this service several times and everything was fine. That's all

Pros: None.

Cons: I’ve never been so frustrated and emotionally drained in my life. ChangeHero is, without a doubt, the most untrustworthy and scam-like cryptocurrency exchange I have ever dealt with. Let me tell you EVERYTHING about my horrible experience so you don’t end up in the same nightmare.

What Happened?

Back in March 2024, I made a transaction with ChangeHero and sent them $10,000 USD in cryptocurrency. Pretty standard, right? Nope! Immediately after, they froze my funds and claimed they needed to perform “KYC/AML checks.” Sure, I thought, that’s normal these days. But little did I know, this was just the beginning of an endless hell.

Endless Requests for Documents

At first, they asked for normal things: bank statements, proof of income, and a contract with the offline exchange I used. Fine. I sent them everything.

But then they came back with more ridiculous demands:

- Notarized translations of every document into English.
- A detailed origin-of-funds report, tracking every penny I’ve ever made.
- A video of me holding my ID (seriously, who does that?). They asked me to re-do that around 4 TIMES.

Okay, I complied. I spent a TON of money and time getting all of this done. Then guess what? They asked for the same documents again. And again. AND AGAIN. I ended up sending some of these documents FIVE times. Yes, FIVE TIMES.

But wait, it gets even more absurd. They started asking for:

- Links to my social media profiles (some of which are banned in my country!).
- Proof that I attended cryptocurrency conferences. Conferences?! Are you serious? What does that have to do with verifying my identity?!


The Flip-Flop Registration Drama

While all of this was going on, I decided to dig deeper into who I was dealing with. That’s when I discovered another MAJOR red flag.

Their Terms of Service say they’re a Hong Kong company, registered as Herofintechs Ltd.
But their website says they’re registered in Costa Rica, under Herofintechs LIMITADA.
So, which is it? Hong Kong? Costa Rica? That’s literally the opposite side of the planet. They’re clearly trying to confuse people and hide their tracks. This isn’t a company; it’s a shady operation trying to avoid accountability.


What This Has Cost Me

Let me tell you, this whole ordeal has been a massive burden:

- My $10,000 is still frozen. It’s been over 8 months, and they haven’t released a single cent.
- I’ve spent over $1,000 USD on notarizations, translations, and endless resubmissions.
- I’ve wasted more than 100 hours trying to deal with their ridiculous demands.

The stress and frustration? Off the charts. They’ve completely ignored my mental well-being and have done NOTHING to resolve my case.

Customer Support? A Total Joke.

Their “support team” is useless. Every email I sent them was either ignored or met with the same generic response:

“Your case is under review.”

When I asked for timelines? Nothing. When I asked why they kept asking for the same documents? Silence. They’re not there to help; they’re there to wear you down until you give up.


Fraudulent Patterns

It’s clear to me now that ChangeHero is running a well-oiled scam:

- They freeze your funds under the excuse of “KYC checks.”
- They bombard you with impossible demands and redundant requests to stall.
- They change their company registration details (from Hong Kong to Costa Rica) to dodge responsibility.

This isn’t just bad business. This is FRAUD.


Why You Should Avoid ChangeHero

If you’re even thinking about using ChangeHero, DON’T. Save yourself the pain, stress, and financial loss. They’ll take your money, freeze your funds, and put you through a never-ending cycle of excuses and delays. You’ll NEVER see your money again.


What I’m Doing Now

I’m not letting them get away with this. I’ve reported them to:

Hong Kong Authorities: The Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Police Force.

Costa Rican Authorities: The Ministry of Economy and the Judicial Investigation Department.

I’m also sharing my story EVERYWHERE to warn others. ChangeHero deserves to be exposed for the scam that it is.

Final Words

ChangeHero is NOT a legitimate exchange. They are FRAUDS hiding behind fake excuses and shady practices. If you care about your money, your time, and your sanity, STAY AWAY. There are plenty of trustworthy exchanges out there. NEVER USE CHANGEHERO.

Maxim Ananyev

Overall: Scam.