The Bytesi Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Bytesi.cc website surfaced, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, in fact, a deceptive site.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Bytesi.cc does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Bytesi Scam Overview

Originally, Bytesi poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, frauds use AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Bytesi Scam

First and foremost, Bytesi copies the layout of multiple similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Waexcoin, Velamex or Saxyn. They are entirely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these fraudulent websites are operated by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Bytesi Scam Works?

Bytesi is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another common 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 sophisticated 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 initiate the scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when feasible), fraud actors increase the exposure of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users get an incentive to register, attracted by the assurance of obtaining crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Bytesi”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Bytesi, “Start earning with Bytesi – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that obtaining the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially as the bonus 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 sign up using your personal info, crooks 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 – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, 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, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Bytesi, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates most 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 engaging on this website hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the problems start to surface. When comparing 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 withdraw 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 swindlers have 0 intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Bytesi.cc they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal info, 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And each of these checks will uncover more and more info of yours, 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 Bytesi.cc. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Bytesi employs fraudulent celebrity endorsements, often featuring names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. These false claims extend to fictitious partnerships with reputable entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite the absence of genuine connections.
• Implausible Earnings Claims. Promising remarkable returns of 50-100-200%, Bytesi exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Bytesi as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Bytesi arouses suspicion by providing inadequate documentation about ownership, location, and registration. Furthermore, the lack of legitimate contact information and the recent registration of domain and social media profiles deepen skepticism.
• Exclusive Cryptocurrency Payments. Bytesi.cc solely accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, refraining from traditional bank transfers and other payment methods. This approach not only shrouds the company’s identity but also prevents the possibility of requesting refunds.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral structure disseminated through social media. Nevertheless, only initial participants profit, often at the expense of funds brought in by subsequent members.
• Groundless Hype Tactics. Bytesi utilizes fabricated claims about non-existent events, such as securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. This manipulative strategy aims to foster belief in money returns and encourages individuals to top up their accounts again.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Bytesi 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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, fraudsters may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto funds. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no intention of returning your money. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful software onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments included to email messages can function as a shell for various malicious software. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize profits.

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