We Looked Into Bitrevo: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Bitrevo.com website popped up, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Despite the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Bitrevo.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Bitrevo Scam Overview

Originally, Bitrevo poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the scam 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Bitrevo Scam

First and foremost, Bitrevo shares the design of multiple equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Calabit, Teslalex or Colebitx. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Presumably, all these fraudulent websites are managed by the same group of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitrevo Scam Works?

Bitrevo is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous 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 begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), scam actors increase the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers 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, frauds claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitrevo”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitrevo, “Start earning with Bitrevo – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the gift 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 register using your personal information, crooks 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 said, frauds bait folks into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, 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. Nonetheless, 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. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Bitrevo, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this website hoping to use all the transferred money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the actual crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that swindlers are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Bitrevo.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, scammers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And every check will uncover more and more information, 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 Bitrevo.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Bitrevo does not provide any documentation about its ownership, location or registration. No legitimate contact details are given either. Moreover, it appears that the domain and all social network pages were registered quite recently.
• Fake sponsorship from a celebrity. Scams like Bitrevo like to pick a celebrity as a sponsor of this entire campaign. For obvious reasons, fraudsters generally choose Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, Mark Zuckerberg, and similar celebrities. They do not disdain claiming partnership with a company as well. Even though Coinbase, Binance or MetaMask never heard of Bitrevo, they do not care – this creates a halo of credibility.
• Potential Ponzi Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral system to spread reach through social media. In fact, only the first members will receive the payoff, at the cost of the money brought by other members.
• Hype without facts. Frauds can cheer up their victims from time to time, using claims about non-existent events. “We got contracts with Coinbase”, “Elon Musk mentioned us as the most prolific crypto project” – you could likely hear something like that. This is made to make people believe in their money return. This can be the sauce to make people top-up their accounts once again.
• Crypto-only incoming payments. Whether the user tries to top-up the account, hackers will only accept payments in crypto – no bank transfers or other payment methods. Such an approach completely hides the identity of the company and deprives you of the ability to ask for a refund.
• Claims are too good to be true. Let’s be sane and sober: even in crypto space, there are not many places where you can earn 50-100-200%. Being able to participate in all of them is nearly impossible, as well as it is impossible to insure or hedge all the risks. Even by that reason alone I can tell that the Bitrevo is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bitrevo 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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 duration of the fraud, its masters may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we earlier figured out, these scammers have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly installing harmful applications onto your computer.

Both add-ons and attachments added to email messages can act as a carrier for different malicious code. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to give up and aim to maximize profits.

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