Recently, Exbitex.pro service popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that clearly indicates it is, actually, a deceptive site.
Contrary to the assertions of Exbitex.pro, they won’t give back your capital. Despite the money displayed in the “member area”, there is no means to retrieve even a coin. All commitments regarding crypto bonuses are baseless as well.
Exbitex Scam Overview
The main feature that Exbitex strives to provide is a safe and convenient cryptocurrency wallet service. The site promises crypto exchange services, tools for managing wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar stuff. In truth, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto trading platform, akin to Binance or Coinbase. However, it in actuality solely serves as a shell intended to deceive the cautious.
Initially, Exbitex imitates the appearance of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Crysterex, Bybitrader or Bitxtruck. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive websites are operated by the same team of fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Exbitex.pro |
| Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
| IP Address | 172.67.128.181 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Exbitex Scam Works?
Exbitex is yet another online platform within a vast network of interconnected crypto fraudulent webpages. The managers employ various brand titles and websites, like Exbitex.pro, to capture victims. However, these deceptive sites share identical designs, terms of service, and About Us content. This reveals their origins as components of the identical fraudulent network, which promotes the same type of fraud under various appearances. The fraudsters just replicate the equal fraudulent website under diverse names to fool users into thinking they are participating in a fresh opportunity. However, in reality, it’s the same system of swindlers orchestrating the misleading pledges and efforts to grab deposited cryptocurrency. The operators shrewdly employ psychological tactics and captivating propositions to execute their unscrupulous plans.
Step 1: Spreading
To begin the scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Using bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. This strategy permits them to cast a wide net and connect with their focused spectators. This public commonly comprises of cryptocurrency fans seeking prospects to make profits.
Users obtain a stimulus to enroll, enticed by the assurance of getting crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
Users who show interest visit Exbitex.pro via links present in promotions or robotic posts. The webpage employs captivating visuals, design elements that appear authentic, and claims of having a valid license, all aimed to convey an initial image of trustworthiness.
Step 3: Data Gathering
To collect their benefits, users need to deliberately sign up on Exbitex and receive prompts to provide sensitive and personal data throughout the sign-up process. This includes linking their cryptocurrency wallets, revealing email addresses, supplying phone numbers, submitting identification documents, and the like.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Once signed up, users observe significant amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at hundreds of dollars, within their Exbitex wallets. However, as is standard with such rewards, you cannot withdraw them ahead of making a deposit. Typically, a deposit of $100 is required to get the sign-up bonus. This condition serves as the trap that ultimately culminates to the money loss.
Step 5: Disappear
Signs of Scam
I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Exbitex.pro. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- False Celebrity Sponsorship. Exbitex 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. Exbitex.pro 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. Exbitex 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. Exbitex.pro 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%, Exbitex preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Exbitex as a scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Exbitex 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 timeline of the fraud, scoundrels may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these deceivers have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly running harmful programs onto your computer.
Both add-ons and files added to email messages can serve as a shell for various malicious code. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and intend to boost gains.
