We Looked Into Defirog: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Defirog.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly indicates it is, in fact, a scam service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Defirog.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any stories about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Defirog Scam Overview

Originally, Defirog poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos with those celebs promote 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 said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Defirog Scam

First and foremost, Defirog repeats the layout of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Bit, Bestbtcoreth2023 or Exchainio. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive websites are operated by the same group of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Defirog Scam Works?

Defirog is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the identical 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 sophisticated 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 begin the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Using bots and sponsored advertisements (when possible), fraud actors increase the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos 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 joins the service immediately.

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

Users get an encouragement to enroll, attracted by the commitment of obtaining crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To enhance the appeal of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Defirog”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Defirog, “Start earning with Defirog – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – 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 register using your personal information, crooks will not be able to earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just said, 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. 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 promised bonus is not available to use 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 kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto purchases require having funds on your account. With Defirog, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most 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 transferred money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the problems start to surface. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the site 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

Needless to say that swindlers are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, deceivers 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 grand back. And each of these checks will share 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 Defirog.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Defirog 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%, Defirog exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Defirog as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Defirog 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. Defirog.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. Defirog 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 Defirog 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 fraud, fraudsters may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto funds. As we earlier determined, these rascals have no intention of giving back your funds. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly installing harmful applications onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments attached to email messages can serve as a shell for various malware. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As noted, their conscience is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to lose and intend to boost revenues.

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