We Investigated CHADWEX: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Chadwex.com site appeared, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably reveals it is, in truth, a scam service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and customer-centric service, Chadwex.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

CHADWEX Scam Overview

Originally, CHADWEX poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

CHADWEX Scam

Initially, CHADWEX shares the layout of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Bitganx, Bitovexer or Bit. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these scam websites are led by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the CHADWEX Scam Works?

CHADWEX is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar 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 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 create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Using bots and sponsored ads (when feasible), fraud actors increase the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the ads, targets end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with CHADWEX”, “Your crypto savings are secured with CHADWEX, “Start earning with CHADWEX – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially since the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, 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 into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require you to have money on your account. With CHADWEX, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the real cryptocurrency 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. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Chadwex.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal info, scammers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And every check 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 Chadwex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with CHADWEX 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 timeline of the scam, rascals may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already figured out, these rascals have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what do these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another component of the scam designed to entice you into willingly installing destructive applications onto your system.

Both add-ons and attachments attached to email messages can function as a shell for different malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to lose and aim to boost revenues.

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