We Investigated Bitgalas: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Bitgalas.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Bitgalas.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Gridinsoft Anti-Malware 6-day trial available.
EULA | Privacy Policy | 10% Off Coupon

Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to know about news and our exclusive materials on information security.

Bitgalas Scam Overview

Originally, Bitgalas poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in 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, con actors use deepfake videos with those celebs promote the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Bitgalas Scam

First and foremost, Bitgalas copies the layout of multiple equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Windbitex, Vapyxer or Bybitox. They are entirely identical in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these deceptive websites are led by a single gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitgalas Scam Works?

Bitgalas is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To initiate the scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored advertisements (when feasible), fraud actors intensify the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos 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 Bitgalas in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive a stimulus to sign up, enticed by the commitment of getting cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitgalas”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitgalas, “Start earning with Bitgalas – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially since the reward 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 register 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, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively 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 alleged bonus 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require having money on your account. With Bitgalas, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash 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 engaging on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

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

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters have zero intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Bitgalas.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for 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 numerous other checks you should go through before getting your money 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 Bitgalas.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Bitgalas 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%, Bitgalas exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Bitgalas as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Bitgalas 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. Bitgalas.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. Bitgalas 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 Bitgalas 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 the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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, its actors may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we earlier determined, these scammers have no intention of restoring your capital. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? You guessed – this is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly installing malicious applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and files included to email messages can function as a shell for various 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 stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and aim to boost revenues.

Remove spyware with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common malicious programs as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove spyware as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Frequently asked questions