We Investigated Audatrade: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Audatrade.com site appeared, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, actually, a scam service.

Despite what Audatrade site states, they won’t ever refund your capital. Despite the numbers displayed in the “member area”, there is zero way to withdraw even a penny. All commitments regarding crypto incentives are hollow as well.

Audatrade Scam Overview

The main offering that Audatrade strives to provide is a secure and convenient cryptocurrency wallet service. The website pledges crypto exchange solutions, tools for managing wallets, transfers, dashboards, and the like. In truth, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto trading platform, akin to Binance or Coinbase. However, it in fact solely serves as a cover needed to lull the vigilance.

Audatrade Scam

Initially, Audatrade mimics the design of many equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Dellymex, Exxonex or Entrixbit. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these fraudulent websites are operated by a single group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Audatrade Scam Works?

Audatrade is yet another website within a extensive network of linked crypto scam platforms. The operators employ diverse brand titles and websites, like Audatrade.com, to trap victims. However, these false websites have in common identical website designs, terms of service, and About information. This reveals their origins as parts of the equal scam network, which advocates the similar mode of scam under various disguises. The scammers merely duplicate the equal deceptive site under diverse names to deceive users into believing they are participating in a new opportunity. However, in reality, it’s the identical group of scammers orchestrating the deceptive promises and undertakings to seize deposited money. The managers skillfully employ psychological strategies and enticing offers to implement their deceitful plots.

Step 1: Spreading

To start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Using bots and paid promotions (when achievable), fraud actors boost the visibility of their deceptive activities to possible victims. This tactic enables them to create an extensive net and engage with their aimed viewers. The group typically comprises of cryptocurrency fans looking for prospects to make profits.

Users obtain a stimulus to sign up, enticed by the promise of getting crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To increase the appeal of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Users who demonstrate interest visit Audatrade.com via links featured in advertisements or bot-generated posts. The webpage uses captivating visuals, design aspects that appear genuine, and assertions of holding a official license, all designed to convey an initial impression of reliability.

Step 3: Data Gathering

To claim their rewards, users are required to deliberately set up an account on Audatrade and receive prompts to submit sensitive and private data during the sign-up procedure. This includes linking their cryptocurrency wallets, sharing email addresses, supplying phone numbers, submitting identification documents, and more.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Once registered, users notice substantial amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at thousands of dollars, within their Audatrade wallets. However, as it usually happens with such rewards, you are unable to withdraw them before making a deposit. Usually, a payment of $100 is asked to withdraw the sign-up bonus. This prerequisite serves as the enticement that eventually leads to the money loss.

Step 5: Disappear

The moment the funds transfer is sent, the deceivers cease all communication. They go ahead to restrict users, remove accounts, and abscond with both the deposited capital and critical private information. The fabricated prizes remain perpetually uncredited, as they lack actual existence. They act solely as a fraudulent ploy. This method forms the foundation for the deceivers’ capacity to mislead victims and embezzle hard-earned funds through their duplicative internet-based crypto scheme.

Signs of Scam

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

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Audatrade 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%, Audatrade exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Audatrade as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Audatrade 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. Audatrade.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. Audatrade 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 Audatrade 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 fraud, rascals may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we already determined, these scammers have no intention of returning your capital. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly running malicious applications onto your device.

Both plugins and attachments attached to email messages can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always above zero. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to give up and aim to boost revenues.

Frequently asked questions