Bitstader Review: Legit or Scam? Read This First

Recently, Bitstader.com website appeared, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and customer-centric service, Bitstader.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Bitstader Scam Overview

Originally, Bitstader poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, rascals employ AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious 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.

Bitstader Scam

Initially, Bitstader shares the layout of many similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Joobit, Gortox or Gimolex. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these deceptive websites are led by the same group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bitstader Scam Works?

Bitstader 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 similar 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 initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Employing bots and paid promotions (when possible), scam actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that promote 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 Bitstader in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Bitstader”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bitstader, “Start earning with Bitstader – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that obtaining the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially since the bonus 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 data, 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 said, deceivers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal info 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, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, the user should 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 cryptocurrency operations require you to have funds on your account. With Bitstader, 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 scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the transferred money and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can notice 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels are naught on intentions to return your money. Though to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what KYC requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And every check 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 Bitstader.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Bitstader often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Bitstader.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Bitstader raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Bitstader.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Bitstader preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Bitstader as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bitstader 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 fraud, its masters may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we earlier determined, these deceivers have no intent of restoring your funds. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – this is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly running harmful programs onto your system.

Both extensions and attachments included to emails can act as a shell for various malicious code. In this case, I foresee 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 existent. As previously mentioned, their morality is of no concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to lose and intend to maximize profits.

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