Recently, Astroption.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably reveals it is, in fact, a deceptive service.
Despite what Astroption site says, they won’t give back your money. Even though the numbers displayed in the “member area”, there is absolutely no possibility to withdraw even a single cent. All commitments regarding crypto bonuses are baseless as well.
Astroption Scam Overview
The main offering that Astroption aims to provide is a secure and user-friendly crypto wallet service. The site promises exchange facilities, tools for handling wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar stuff. In fact, they try to emulate the functionality of a crypto exchange, like Binance or Coinbase. However, it actually only serves as a cover intended to fool the cautious.
To begin with, Astroption imitates the layout of many similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Asixtrader, Arbitraded or Aptosf. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Probably, all these deceptive online platforms are led by the same team of scoundrels.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Astroption.com |
| Hosting | AS22612 Namecheap, Inc. United States, Phoenix |
| IP Address | 66.29.153.190 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Astroption Scam Works?
Astroption is yet another webpage within a wide-ranging network of interconnected crypto scam webpages. The administrators employ various brand titles and websites, like Astroption.com, to trap victims. Nevertheless, these fraudulent websites have in common matching designs, terms of service, and About Us information. This reveals their origins as components of the identical scam network, which advocates the same form of scam under diverse disguises. The scammers merely replicate the identical deceptive site under various names to mislead users into assuming they are joining a new platform. However, in actuality, it’s the equal group of scammers orchestrating the misleading pledges and undertakings to seize deposited funds. The operators skillfully make use of psychological tactics and appealing offers to execute their unscrupulous plots.
Step 1: Spreading
To begin the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), fraud actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. This approach allows them to create a wide net and interact with their focused audience. The latter typically consists of cryptocurrency enthusiastic individuals searching for opportunities to earn profits.
Users obtain a stimulus to register, enticed by the promise of getting crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
People who demonstrate interest go to Astroption.com via links present in ads or robotic posts. The webpage employs captivating visuals, design features that appear authentic, and claims of having a legitimate license, all designed to convey an initial perception of credibility.
Step 3: Data Gathering
To redeem their benefits, users need to proactively sign up on Astroption and receive guidance to submit sensitive and personal data during the enrollment procedure. This comprises linking their cryptocurrency wallets, providing email addresses, giving phone numbers, submitting identification documents, and the like.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Once registered, users observe significant amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at thousands of dollars, within their Astroption wallets. Nonetheless, as is standard with such incentives, you can’t withdraw them ahead of topping up your account. Usually, a funds transfer of $100 is asked to get the sign-up bonus. This condition serves as the snare that eventually leads to the money loss.
Step 5: Disappear
The moment the payment is made, the deceivers halt all interaction. They move forward to restrict users, delete accounts, and disappear with both the submitted capital and vital private details. The fabricated rewards remain perpetually uncredited, as they lack actual existence. They operate exclusively as a deceptive maneuver. This method forms the foundation for the deceivers’ capacity to mislead victims and misappropriate hard-earned funds through their double-dealing online crypto fraud.
Signs of Scam
I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Astroption.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Unsubstantiated Credibility. Astroption 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%, Astroption exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Astroption as a scam.
- Dubious Corporate Information. Astroption 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. Astroption.com 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. Astroption 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 Astroption 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 course of the scam, fraudsters may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of returning your money. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another element of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately running destructive software onto your computer.
Both add-ons and attachments attached to emails can function as a carrier for different malicious software. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and strive to boost revenues.
Frequently asked questions
- Contact your bank or card provider and ask about chargeback options.
- Save screenshots, receipts, tracking numbers, and emails as evidence.
- Change reused passwords and enable two-factor authentication on important accounts.
- Watch for follow-up phishing emails pretending to offer refunds or delivery updates.
