Investigating Cenalex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Cenalex.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly confirms it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Cenalex.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Cenalex Scam Overview

Originally, Cenalex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in 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 more realistic, frauds use deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Cenalex Scam

To begin with, Cenalex shares the layout of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Meuma, Velcoinx or Gotweex. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these scam sites are led by a single team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Cenalex Scam Works?

Cenalex is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another shared 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when possible), scam actors boost the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that advertise 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 Cenalex in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive a stimulus to register, enticed by the assurance of getting cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Cenalex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Cenalex, “Start earning with Cenalex – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that unlocking the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially as the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

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

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available to use right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

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

This is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the site 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. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, 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 should go through before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will share 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 Cenalex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Cenalex 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%, Cenalex exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Cenalex as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Cenalex 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. Cenalex.com 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. Cenalex 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 Cenalex 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 to Authorities. Your initial action should involve reporting the scam to local authorities responsible for addressing financial fraud. Additionally, reach out to wallet providers and engage with the technical support teams of social networks. This collective effort raises the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Inform Your Inner Circle. Extend your impact by sharing information about the scam with your close friends. Similar to notifying authorities, this dissemination of details curbs the scammers’ potential to deceive.
• Document the Trail. Assemble a comprehensive record by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. This encompasses the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials offer invaluable leads for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments may not typically align with traditional bank refund policies, it’s worthwhile to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain a positive outlook until you secure confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Insight. Shift your focus from the financial loss to gaining wisdom. Consider your loss as an investment in comprehending the tactics employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their distinctive traits, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant pledges they make. This knowledge equips you to recognize and avoid future traps, minimizing the risk of enduring further 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, scoundrels may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we previously figured out, these scammers have no intent of restoring your money. So, what can these messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing malicious programs onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments included to email messages can function as a carrier for diverse malicious software. In this case, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As stated, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and aim to maximize revenues.

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