Investigating BY1XBIT: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Hollbit.com service appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably indicates it is, in truth, a fraudulent service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Hollbit.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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BY1XBIT Scam Overview

Originally, BY1XBIT poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. 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 more realistic, con actors employ deepfake videos with those celebs promote the scam as 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 vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

BY1XBIT Scam

To begin with, BY1XBIT repeats the layout of numerous equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like By1xbit, Whitecoinex or Solenexs. They are entirely identical in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these deceptive online platforms are led by the same group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the BY1XBIT Scam Works?

BY1XBIT is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several 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 complex psychological tricks that make the user believe in the authenticity 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 popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored advertisements (when feasible), fraud actors boost 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 promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

Promotions of cryptoscams like BY1XBIT in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an encouragement to register, enticed by the promise of obtaining crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with BY1XBIT”, “Your crypto savings are secured with BY1XBIT, “Start earning with BY1XBIT – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that getting the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially as the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, frauds will not 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 into registration for bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the promised bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require having money on your account. With BY1XBIT, users are also coerced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the credited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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 scoundrels are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Hollbit.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout 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 a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will reveal 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 Hollbit.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Hollbit.com insists on cryptocurrency payments exclusively, excluding conventional methods like bank transfers. This strategy ensures anonymity for the scam and eliminates any possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Credentials. BY1XBIT arouses suspicion by failing to provide critical information about ownership, location, and legal registration. The lack of valid contact details and the recent creation of domain and social media profiles cast doubt on its legitimacy.
• Baseless Hype Generation. BY1XBIT resorts to fabricating non-existent achievements, such as contracts with Coinbase or endorsements from Elon Musk, to manipulate emotions and enhance the perception of potential returns, enticing victims to invest more.
• Fictitious Celebrity Association. BY1XBIT employs a deceptive tactic by falsely associating itself with well-known figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the scam falsely claims partnerships with established entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to bolster its false credibility.
• Potential Ponzi-Like Model. The scam operates on a pyramid-style referral system disseminated through social media, benefiting only initial participants and relying on later investments to sustain the illusion.
• Unrealistic Profit Promises. Promising improbable returns of 50-100-200%, BY1XBIT capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Hollbit.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with BY1XBIT 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 get in touch with you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto funds. As we already figured out, these scoundrels have no plan of restoring your money. So, what can these email messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – this is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately installing harmful programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and files included to emails can serve as a carrier for various malware. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As stated, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to lose and aim to boost profits.

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