Investigating Etchrg: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Etchrg.com service appeared, promoting itself as a place where you can securely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably confirms it is, in fact, a scam platform.

Despite the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Etchrg.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Etchrg Scam Overview

Originally, Etchrg poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fraud 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 glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Etchrg Scam

Initially, Etchrg copies the design of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Bapusdt, Pfnbx or Btcxxc. They are entirely identical in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these scam online platforms are managed by a single group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Etchrg Scam Works?

Etchrg is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the similar 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 validity 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 generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Utilizing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors boost the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that promote 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 Etchrg in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to enroll, enticed by the commitment of receiving crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To enhance the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, targets end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Etchrg”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Etchrg, “Start earning with Etchrg – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially as the bonus 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 where the main fraud action begins. As I just said, scammers 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. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any crypto operations require having capital on your account. In the case of Etchrg, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the deposited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the real crypto 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

There’s no need to explain that swindlers are naught on intentions to send you money. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the Etchrg.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will reveal 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 Etchrg.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Etchrg 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 to Authorities. Your initial action should involve reporting the scam to local authorities responsible for addressing financial fraud. Additionally, reach out to wallet providers and engage with the technical support teams of social networks. This collective effort raises the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Inform Your Inner Circle. Extend your impact by sharing information about the scam with your close friends. Similar to notifying authorities, this dissemination of details curbs the scammers’ potential to deceive.
• Document the Trail. Assemble a comprehensive record by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. This encompasses the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials offer invaluable leads for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments may not typically align with traditional bank refund policies, it’s worthwhile to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain a positive outlook until you secure confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Insight. Shift your focus from the financial loss to gaining wisdom. Consider your loss as an investment in comprehending the tactics employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their distinctive traits, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant pledges they make. This knowledge equips you to recognize and avoid future traps, minimizing the risk of enduring further 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 duration of the scam, fraudsters may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already determined, these rascals have no intention of returning your money. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? You guessed it right – this is another component of the scam designed to entice you into deliberately installing destructive applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments added to emails can serve as a shell for various malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As stated, their conscience is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to give up and aim to boost revenues.

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