The CryptusLab Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Cryptuslab.com site popped up, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that clearly indicates it is, in fact, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Cryptuslab.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

CryptusLab Scam Overview

Originally, CryptusLab poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. 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 more realistic, frauds employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

CryptusLab Scam

To begin with, CryptusLab repeats the appearance of multiple similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Crytonet, Racpel or Vepdex. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these fraudulent websites are managed by a single gang of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the CryptusLab Scam Works?

CryptusLab is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), scam actors intensify the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with CryptusLab”, “Your crypto savings are secured with CryptusLab, “Start earning with CryptusLab – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially as the gift 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 information, rascals 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 mentioned, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency 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. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. With CryptusLab, users are also forced to top up to claim 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 promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto 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 funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have 0 intentions to send you money. But to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but for the Cryptuslab.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal information, deceivers 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 each of these checks will uncover more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then marketed 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 Cryptuslab.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with CryptusLab 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, its actors may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we already figured out, these scammers have no intent of giving back your capital. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another side of the scam designed to entice you into willingly installing destructive software onto your device.

Both extensions and files attached to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malicious software. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always significant. As previously mentioned, 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.

Frequently asked questions