Investigating Bonudex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Bonudex.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a scam site.

Despite the promises of the most easy, dependable, and customer-centric service, Bonudex.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Bonudex Scam Overview

Originally, Bonudex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors use deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Bonudex Scam

Initially, Bonudex copies the appearance of numerous similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like 4urki, Kenedex or Fsaweeewq. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are led by the same group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bonudex Scam Works?

Bonudex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers 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 complex 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 popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Employing bots and paid ads (when achievable), fraud actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters 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, frauds claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users obtain a stimulus to register, attracted by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Bonudex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bonudex, “Start earning with Bonudex – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that obtaining the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially as the bonus 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 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, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only 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, 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

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require having money on your account. With Bonudex, users are also coerced to top up to get 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 committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the issues. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve 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 fraudsters 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 wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Bonudex.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal info, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And every check will uncover 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 Bonudex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bonudex 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 timeline of the fraud, its masters may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto savings. As we already figured out, these scammers have no intent of returning your money. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly installing malicious applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and files added to emails can act as a shell for various malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As stated, their morality is of no concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize revenues.

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