The Truth About BENREF: Legit or Scam? Our Review

Recently, Benref.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and client-friendly service, Benref.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.

BENREF Scam Overview

Originally, BENREF poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. 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 more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud 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 glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

BENREF Scam

Initially, BENREF copies the design of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Zedropex, Panlenex or Omerox. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these scam websites are operated by the same group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the BENREF Scam Works?

BENREF is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another shared 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 start the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Utilizing bots and paid promotions (when achievable), scam actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters 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, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users get a stimulus to sign up, attracted by the assurance of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To augment the appeal of the offer, false suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with BENREF”, “Your crypto savings are secured with BENREF, “Start earning with BENREF – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the bonus 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 information, rascals will not be able to earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any crypto purchases require you to have money on your account. In the case of BENREF, users are also coerced to top up to claim 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 participating on this site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters have no intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch 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 requesting your personal data, deceivers 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And each of these checks will reveal 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 Benref.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with BENREF 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, scoundrels may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we previously determined, these scammers have no plan of giving back your capital. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed it right – this is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly running malicious software onto your system.

Both extensions and files attached to emails can function as a shell for diverse malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As noted, their morality is of little concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have no scruples to lose and intend to boost revenues.

Frequently asked questions