We Looked at the Evidence: Is Baozem Legit or Scam?

Recently, Baozem.com service appeared, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that clearly indicates it is, actually, a fraudulent platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Baozem.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Baozem Scam Overview

Originally, Baozem poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. 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 real, rascals use AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the scam 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 vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Baozem Scam

To begin with, Baozem shares the appearance of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Tradinghobital, Nonfig or Xonwex. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these scam online platforms are operated by the same team of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Baozem Scam Works?

Baozem is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous 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 sophisticated 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 initiate the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when achievable), fraud actors boost the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that promote 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 Baozem in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive a stimulus to register, drawn by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the appeal of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Baozem”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Baozem, “Start earning with Baozem – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily proceed – especially as the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

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

Step 3: Data Gathering

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

As it turns out, the promised bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. In the case of Baozem, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can notice 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

Needless to say that swindlers are naught on intentions to send you money. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, scammers 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 should go through before getting your money back. And every check will share more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then marketed 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 Baozem.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Baozem.com insists on cryptocurrency payments exclusively, excluding conventional methods like bank transfers. This strategy ensures anonymity for the scam and eliminates any possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Credentials. Baozem arouses suspicion by failing to provide critical information about ownership, location, and legal registration. The lack of valid contact details and the recent creation of domain and social media profiles cast doubt on its legitimacy.
• Baseless Hype Generation. Baozem resorts to fabricating non-existent achievements, such as contracts with Coinbase or endorsements from Elon Musk, to manipulate emotions and enhance the perception of potential returns, enticing victims to invest more.
• Fictitious Celebrity Association. Baozem employs a deceptive tactic by falsely associating itself with well-known figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the scam falsely claims partnerships with established entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to bolster its false credibility.
• Potential Ponzi-Like Model. The scam operates on a pyramid-style referral system disseminated through social media, benefiting only initial participants and relying on later investments to sustain the illusion.
• Unrealistic Profit Promises. Promising improbable returns of 50-100-200%, Baozem capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Baozem.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Baozem 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 timeline of the fraud, its actors may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto assets. As we previously determined, these deceivers have no plan of giving back your capital. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – this is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly running harmful software onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments included to email messages can serve as a shell for different malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their reputation is already severely tarnished. They have no scruples to lose and aim to maximize gains.

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