We Looked Into Coingom: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Coingom.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Coingom.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Coingom Scam Overview

Originally, Coingom poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ deepfake videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Coingom Scam

Initially, Coingom repeats the layout of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Klybit, Kensyup or Binfunc. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Presumably, all these scam sites are operated by a single team of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Coingom Scam Works?

Coingom is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 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 primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), scam actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities 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 Coingom in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Coingom”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Coingom, “Start earning with Coingom – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially as the reward 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 information, rascals 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, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely 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 alleged 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require having money on your account. With Coingom, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the deposited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can spot 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

Needless to say that scoundrels are naught on intentions to send you money. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them 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, deceivers 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 funds back. And every check will share 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 Coingom.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Coingom often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Coingom.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Coingom raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Coingom.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Coingom preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Coingom as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Coingom 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 duration of the scam, rascals may get in touch with you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we previously determined, these scammers have no intention of restoring your capital. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing destructive programs onto your system.

Both plugins and files included to email messages can serve as a shell for different malicious software. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize revenues.

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