We Investigated Bitco-Swap: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Bitco-swap.com site popped up, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly confirms it is, in truth, a fraudulent service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Bitco-swap.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Bitco-Swap Scam Overview

Originally, Bitco-Swap poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, frauds employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Bitco-Swap Scam

First and foremost, Bitco-Swap shares the layout of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Geldbost, Fonalax or Zelorax. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these scam online platforms are managed by the same gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitco-Swap Scam Works?

Bitco-Swap is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several 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 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 scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors boost the exposure of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that advertise 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 Bitco-Swap in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an encouragement to sign up, attracted by the assurance of obtaining cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the appeal of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitco-Swap”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitco-Swap, “Start earning with Bitco-Swap – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that obtaining the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – especially as the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal information, frauds will not earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just mentioned, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data 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 to use right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency operations require you to have funds on your account. In the case of Bitco-Swap, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can spot 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 scoundrels are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting 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 a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will reveal more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then sold 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 Bitco-swap.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Bitco-Swap 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%, Bitco-Swap exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Bitco-Swap as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Bitco-Swap 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. Bitco-swap.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. Bitco-Swap 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 Bitco-Swap 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 reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these deceivers have no intention of restoring your money. So, what do these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments attached to emails can serve as a shell for different malware. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As stated, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to give up and strive to maximize gains.

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