We Investigated CoinsTrustBy: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Coinstrustby.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a fraudulent platform.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Coinstrustby.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

CoinsTrustBy Scam Overview

Originally, CoinsTrustBy poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is backing from 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, rascals employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

CoinsTrustBy Scam

To begin with, CoinsTrustBy copies the design of multiple equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Coinexmo, Changetun or Cenurix. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive websites are led by a single gang of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the CoinsTrustBy Scam Works?

CoinsTrustBy is a part of a extensive 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 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 deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Utilizing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), fraud actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned 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 CoinsTrustBy in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get a stimulus to register, drawn by the assurance of obtaining crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with CoinsTrustBy”, “Your crypto savings are secured with CoinsTrustBy, “Start earning with CoinsTrustBy – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware 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, frauds 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 for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info 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 crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should 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 purchases require you to have funds on your account. In the case of CoinsTrustBy, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups 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 participating on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the funds 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 made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Coinstrustby.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, 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 every check will uncover 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 Coinstrustby.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Coinstrustby.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. CoinsTrustBy 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. CoinsTrustBy 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. CoinsTrustBy 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%, CoinsTrustBy capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Coinstrustby.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with CoinsTrustBy 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 course of the scam, its masters may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto savings. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no plan of restoring your funds. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – that is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running malicious software onto your device.

Both plugins and files attached to emails can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always existent. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to give up and intend to maximize profits.

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