We Looked at the Evidence: Is Bitsmoon Legit or Scam?

Recently, Bitsmoon.com website popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Bitsmoon.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Bitsmoon Scam Overview

Originally, Bitsmoon poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this platform is backing from celebrities that have relation to 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, frauds employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, 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.

Bitsmoon Scam

To begin with, Bitsmoon repeats the design of multiple similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Xnrte, Removax or Welybit. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same gang of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitsmoon Scam Works?

Bitsmoon is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another mutual 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 begin the scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when feasible), scam actors boost the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users obtain a stimulus to register, enticed by the assurance of obtaining crypto benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitsmoon”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitsmoon, “Start earning with Bitsmoon – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that claiming the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal information, frauds will not be able to 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal 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

Eventually, any cryptocurrency purchases require having funds on your account. With Bitsmoon, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 trading on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site 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

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters are naught on intentions to give your money back. Though to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Bitsmoon.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Bitsmoon 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 Bitsmoon 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 Bitsmoon, 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 Bitsmoon is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bitsmoon 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, rascals may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we previously determined, these rascals have no intention of returning your capital. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another element of the scam designed to entice you into willingly running destructive programs onto your device.

Both add-ons and files attached to email messages can act as a carrier for different malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already severely tarnished. They have no scruples to lose and aim to boost revenues.

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