Sorry to hear this happened to you and I hope this gets resolved.

I did a lot of reading about crypto and made the decision not to use exchanges. I know I'm missing out on opportunities, but I'd rather use services like @blocktrades and ShapeShift that don't require an account (privacy) and don't require funds to be deposited with them. That way I always have the keys to my own money.

I'm guessing that you probably have come to similar conclusions, but wanted to share here for other readers, too.