We Investigated Alocrypto: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Alocrypto.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly reveals it is, actually, a scam site.

Despite the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Alocrypto.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Alocrypto Scam Overview

Originally, Alocrypto poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this site is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors use AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Alocrypto Scam

Initially, Alocrypto shares the design of numerous equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Coinupdex, Colibex or Tellorchain. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive sites are operated by the same group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Alocrypto Scam Works?

Alocrypto is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the similar overall layout. Another shared 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 scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Using bots and paid ads (when possible), scam actors intensify the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Alocrypto”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Alocrypto, “Start earning with Alocrypto – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that getting the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, frauds will not earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency 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, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency operations require having capital on your account. With Alocrypto, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed 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 victim notices the issues. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters are naught on intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And every check will reveal more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then sold 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 Alocrypto.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Alocrypto often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Alocrypto.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Alocrypto raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Alocrypto.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Alocrypto preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Alocrypto as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Alocrypto 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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 course of the scam, its masters may get in touch with you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no plan of restoring your money. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed it right – that is another side of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately running destructive applications onto your system.

Both add-ons and files included to email messages can function as a carrier for various malicious software. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have no principles to give up and intend to maximize revenues.

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