The Custodyubtc Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Custodyubtc.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly confirms it is, in fact, a scam service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Custodyubtc.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Custodyubtc Scam Overview

Originally, Custodyubtc poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, frauds employ deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Custodyubtc Scam

First and foremost, Custodyubtc copies the appearance of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Tyjen, Prexoin or Bitwazix. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Presumably, all these scam websites are led by the same team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Custodyubtc Scam Works?

Custodyubtc is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous 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 advanced psychological tricks that make the user believe in the validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), scam actors boost the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users get an incentive to enroll, attracted by the commitment of getting crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the appeal of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Custodyubtc”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Custodyubtc, “Start earning with Custodyubtc – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, crooks will not be able to earn even a penny 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 – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the promised bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, 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 capital on your account. In the case of Custodyubtc, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this website hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This is where the problems start to surface. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can spot 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

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters have 0 intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but for the Custodyubtc.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your money back. And each of these checks will share more and more info of yours, 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 Custodyubtc.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Custodyubtc 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. Custodyubtc.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. Custodyubtc 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. Custodyubtc.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%, Custodyubtc preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Custodyubtc as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Custodyubtc 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.

• Report the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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, its actors may reach out to you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we already figured out, these deceivers have no plan of giving back your money. So, what do these email messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed it right – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly installing harmful software onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments attached to emails can function as a carrier for various malware. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and aim to boost profits.

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