We Looked Into Astralxtrade: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Astralxtrade.com service popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly confirms it is, actually, a scam site.

Despite what Astralxtrade site states, they won’t pay off your funds. Despite the numbers displayed in the “member area”, there is no ability to withdraw even a cent. All commitments regarding crypto rewards are baseless as well.

Astralxtrade Scam Overview

The key offering that Astralxtrade strives to provide is a secure and user-friendly cryptocurrency wallet service. The website pledges crypto exchange facilities, tools for managing wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar stuff. In truth, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto trading platform, like Binance or Coinbase. However, it in fact exclusively serves as a cover needed to mislead the cautious.

Astralxtrade Scam

Initially, Astralxtrade mimics the layout of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Altowex, Naglex or Cluwex. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these scam websites are operated by the same group of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Astralxtrade Scam Works?

Astralxtrade is yet another webpage within a vast network of associated crypto scam sites. The operators employ different brand identities and sites, like Astralxtrade.com, to trap victims. Nevertheless, these false websites share matching designs, terms of service, and About Us content. This unveils their sources as parts of the identical scam network, which advocates the similar type of fraud under different covers. The scammers merely duplicate the identical scam site under various names to mislead users into believing they are enrolling a fresh venture. However, in reality, it’s the same group of scammers orchestrating the deceptive commitments and efforts to grab deposited money. The operators cleverly utilize psychological maneuvers and appealing invitations to execute their dishonest plans.

Step 1: Spreading

To initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when achievable), fraud actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. This approach enables them to cast a broad net and connect with their aimed audience. The latter usually consists of cryptocurrency enthusiastic individuals seeking prospects to generate profits.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Users who demonstrate interest visit Astralxtrade.com via links present in advertisements or robotic posts. The site utilizes captivating visuals, design features that appear authentic, and assertions of having a legitimate license, all intended to convey an initial impression of credibility.

Step 3: Data Gathering

To redeem their benefits, users need to deliberately set up an profile on Astralxtrade and receive guidance to submit sensitive and private information during the enrollment procedure. This comprises linking their cryptocurrency wallets, revealing email addresses, giving phone numbers, sending in identification papers, and the like.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Once signed up, users notice significant amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at hundreds of dollars, within their Astralxtrade wallets. Nonetheless, as it usually happens with such rewards, you cannot withdraw them ahead of making a deposit. Usually, a funds transfer of $100 is required to get the sign-up bonus. This stipulation serves as the snare that ultimately culminates to the money loss.

Step 5: Disappear

The instant the funds transfer is made, the fraudsters cease all communication. They move forward to bar users, erase accounts, and disappear with both the transferred funds and essential private details. The fabricated prizes persist perpetually uncredited, as they lack genuine existence. They function purely as a fraudulent maneuver. This technique forms the foundation for the fraudsters’ capacity to trick victims and misappropriate hard-earned earnings through their duplicative web crypto scam.

Signs of Scam

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

• Absent company details. Astralxtrade does not provide any documentation about its ownership, location or registration. No legitimate contact details are given either. Moreover, it appears that the domain and all social network pages were registered quite recently.
• Fake sponsorship from a celebrity. Scams like Astralxtrade like to pick a celebrity as a sponsor of this entire campaign. For obvious reasons, fraudsters generally choose Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, Mark Zuckerberg, and similar celebrities. They do not disdain claiming partnership with a company as well. Even though Coinbase, Binance or MetaMask never heard of Astralxtrade, they do not care – this creates a halo of credibility.
• Potential Ponzi Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral system to spread reach through social media. In fact, only the first members will receive the payoff, at the cost of the money brought by other members.
• Hype without facts. Frauds can cheer up their victims from time to time, using claims about non-existent events. “We got contracts with Coinbase”, “Elon Musk mentioned us as the most prolific crypto project” – you could likely hear something like that. This is made to make people believe in their money return. This can be the sauce to make people top-up their accounts once again.
• Crypto-only incoming payments. Whether the user tries to top-up the account, hackers will only accept payments in crypto – no bank transfers or other payment methods. Such an approach completely hides the identity of the company and deprives you of the ability to ask for a refund.
• Claims are too good to be true. Let’s be sane and sober: even in crypto space, there are not many places where you can earn 50-100-200%. Being able to participate in all of them is nearly impossible, as well as it is impossible to insure or hedge all the risks. Even by that reason alone I can tell that the Astralxtrade is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Astralxtrade 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 timeline of the fraud, scoundrels may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we earlier determined, these rascals have no plan of returning your money. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly running malicious software onto your system.

Both plugins and attachments included to email messages can serve as a carrier for diverse malware. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As stated, their conscience is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and aim to maximize gains.

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