We Investigated Bazarswap: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Bazarswap.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably confirms it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, reliable, and client-friendly service, Bazarswap.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Bazarswap Scam Overview

Originally, Bazarswap poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors use deepfake videos where those celebrities promote the scam as 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 blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Bazarswap Scam

To begin with, Bazarswap repeats the appearance of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Teforix, Trumpdex or Upionex. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these fraudulent online platforms are operated by the same team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bazarswap Scam Works?

Bazarswap is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the similar overall layout. Another common 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 complex psychological tricks that make the user believe in the validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To initiate the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and paid ads (when achievable), scam actors increase the visibility of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the mentioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Bazarswap”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bazarswap, “Start earning with Bazarswap – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal information, crooks will not 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 mentioned, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require having capital on your account. In the case of Bazarswap, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this website hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters have zero intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal info, deceivers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will share more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded 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 Bazarswap.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Bazarswap 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. Bazarswap.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. Bazarswap 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. Bazarswap.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%, Bazarswap preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Bazarswap as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bazarswap 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 fraud, rascals may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto assets. As we earlier determined, these scoundrels have no plan of giving back your money. So, what do these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing malicious programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and files included to emails can act as a shell for diverse malicious code. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As noted, their morality is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and intend to boost gains.

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