The Coweu Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Coweu.com website appeared, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Coweu.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Coweu Scam Overview

Originally, Coweu poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, rascals employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Coweu Scam

First and foremost, Coweu shares the appearance of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Citzns, Dttsc or Selunox. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Presumably, all these deceptive sites are operated by a single team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Coweu Scam Works?

Coweu is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous 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 start the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors increase the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities 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 Coweu in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain an encouragement to register, enticed by the promise of receiving crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Coweu”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Coweu, “Start earning with Coweu – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that obtaining the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, crooks will not earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters 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 it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, 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

It is obvious that any crypto operations require having money on your account. In the case of Coweu, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can observe 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels have zero intentions to send you money. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but for the Coweu.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, frauds just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will reveal more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded 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 Coweu.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Coweu 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%, Coweu exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Coweu as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Coweu 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. Coweu.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. Coweu 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 Coweu 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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, scoundrels may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no intent of returning your capital. So, what do these emails and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another side of the scam designed to entice you into deliberately installing malicious programs onto your computer.

Both add-ons and files included to emails can serve as a shell for diverse malware. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always existent. As previously mentioned, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and intend to boost profits.

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