We Looked at the Evidence: Is Cryptobitbao Legit or Scam?

Recently, Cryptobitbao.org site appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a scam service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Cryptobitbao.org does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Cryptobitbao Scam Overview

Originally, Cryptobitbao poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Cryptobitbao Scam

First and foremost, Cryptobitbao repeats the appearance of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Xabuj, Elonexs or Homnb. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these scam sites are operated by the same group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Cryptobitbao Scam Works?

Cryptobitbao is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers 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 complex 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 scam, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), scam actors intensify the exposure of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned 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 Cryptobitbao in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Cryptobitbao”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Cryptobitbao, “Start earning with Cryptobitbao – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, swindrels 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 into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively 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, the alleged 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Cryptobitbao, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent website. 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 credited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the issues start to surface. 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 withdraw the money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters are naught on intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal info, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss 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 reveal 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 Cryptobitbao.org. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Cryptobitbao 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 fraud, fraudsters may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto assets. As we previously determined, these scoundrels have no intention of restoring your capital. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately installing harmful programs onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments attached to emails can act as a shell for different malware. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As stated, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize profits.

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