Investigating 4ex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, 4ex.bet site surfaced, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly indicates it is, actually, a scam platform.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, 4ex.bet does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.

4ex Scam Overview

Originally, 4ex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors employ AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

4ex Scam

Initially, 4ex shares the appearance of numerous equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Luckyspire, Renalor or Relonur. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these scam online platforms are led by the same group of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the 4ex Scam Works?

4ex is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another mutual element are the ways the scams like NAME are promoted, and the manner all this ends up to the victim of the scam. To reach peak efficiency, frauds apply advanced psychological tricks that make the user believe in the legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Using bots and paid ads (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

Promotions of cryptoscams like 4ex in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to register, drawn by the promise of obtaining crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the appeal of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promotions, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with 4ex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with 4ex, “Start earning with 4ex – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, crooks will not earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just said, frauds bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require having capital on your account. With 4ex, users are also coerced to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have zero intentions to return your money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the 4ex.bet they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal information, frauds just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And every check will share more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded on the Darknet. Never reveal your real info to strangers!

Signs of Scam

I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the 4ex.bet. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. 4ex employs fraudulent celebrity endorsements, often featuring names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. These false claims extend to fictitious partnerships with reputable entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite the absence of genuine connections.
• Implausible Earnings Claims. Promising remarkable returns of 50-100-200%, 4ex exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying 4ex as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. 4ex arouses suspicion by providing inadequate documentation about ownership, location, and registration. Furthermore, the lack of legitimate contact information and the recent registration of domain and social media profiles deepen skepticism.
• Exclusive Cryptocurrency Payments. 4ex.bet solely accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, refraining from traditional bank transfers and other payment methods. This approach not only shrouds the company’s identity but also prevents the possibility of requesting refunds.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral structure disseminated through social media. Nevertheless, only initial participants profit, often at the expense of funds brought in by subsequent members.
• Groundless Hype Tactics. 4ex utilizes fabricated claims about non-existent events, such as securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. This manipulative strategy aims to foster belief in money returns and encourages individuals to top up their accounts again.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with 4ex site and fell victim to that scam, there are still some steps to take. They will make further scam attempts harder, and also boost the knowledge about that scam among folks.

• Report to Authorities. Your initial action should involve reporting the scam to local authorities responsible for addressing financial fraud. Additionally, reach out to wallet providers and engage with the technical support teams of social networks. This collective effort raises the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Inform Your Inner Circle. Extend your impact by sharing information about the scam with your close friends. Similar to notifying authorities, this dissemination of details curbs the scammers’ potential to deceive.
• Document the Trail. Assemble a comprehensive record by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. This encompasses the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials offer invaluable leads for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments may not typically align with traditional bank refund policies, it’s worthwhile to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain a positive outlook until you secure confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Insight. Shift your focus from the financial loss to gaining wisdom. Consider your loss as an investment in comprehending the tactics employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their distinctive traits, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant pledges they make. This knowledge equips you to recognize and avoid future traps, minimizing the risk of enduring further financial setbacks.

Scan your system for possible malware infections

Beware of cross scams! Scam actors can use your trust to make you download some stuff or interact with certain documents. It may be a trap that installs malware to your system. There are no moral barriers or limits for these scoundrels.

Throughout the duration of the scam, fraudsters may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we previously determined, these scoundrels have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another component of the scam designed to entice you into willingly running malicious applications onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments included to emails can serve as a shell for various malware. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always above zero. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and intend to boost gains.

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