Investigating Bitfiex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Bitfiex.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a scam site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Bitfiex.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Bitfiex Scam Overview

Originally, Bitfiex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this site is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Bitfiex Scam

Initially, Bitfiex repeats the design of many equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Bitaury, Venolix or Usdtquaaibot. 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. Presumably, all these scam sites are managed by the same team of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitfiex Scam Works?

Bitfiex is a part of a significant 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 advanced 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 begin the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Utilizing bots and paid promotions (when possible), fraud actors boost the presence of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users receive a stimulus to register, drawn by the promise of getting crypto rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the ads, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitfiex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitfiex, “Start earning with Bitfiex – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially as the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip 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 mentioned, frauds bait folks into signing up to get bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, 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 equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require having capital on your account. With Bitfiex, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the capital 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. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Bitfiex.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks 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 Bitfiex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Bitfiex 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%, Bitfiex exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Bitfiex as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Bitfiex 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. Bitfiex.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. Bitfiex 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 Bitfiex 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 timeline of the scam, fraudsters may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no plan of restoring your funds. So, what do these email messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately running malicious applications onto your system.

Both extensions and attachments added to emails can serve 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 chance is always above zero. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to lose and strive to boost gains.

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