The Extrinex Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Extrinex.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that clearly confirms it is, actually, a scam service.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Extrinex.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Extrinex Scam Overview

Originally, Extrinex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, rascals use AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Extrinex Scam

To begin with, Extrinex copies the design of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Exmocash, Navbitcor or Jominus. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are led by a single group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Extrinex Scam Works?

Extrinex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers 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 complex 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 set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when feasible), fraud actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users receive an encouragement to register, drawn by the assurance of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Extrinex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Extrinex, “Start earning with Extrinex – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, rascals 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 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. Only 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, you cannot use the promised bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, 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 purchases require you to have money on your account. With Extrinex, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money flow to this scam site. 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 deposited capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the capital 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 zero intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, deceivers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed 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 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 Extrinex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Extrinex.com insists on cryptocurrency payments exclusively, excluding conventional methods like bank transfers. This strategy ensures anonymity for the scam and eliminates any possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Credentials. Extrinex arouses suspicion by failing to provide critical information about ownership, location, and legal registration. The lack of valid contact details and the recent creation of domain and social media profiles cast doubt on its legitimacy.
• Baseless Hype Generation. Extrinex resorts to fabricating non-existent achievements, such as contracts with Coinbase or endorsements from Elon Musk, to manipulate emotions and enhance the perception of potential returns, enticing victims to invest more.
• Fictitious Celebrity Association. Extrinex employs a deceptive tactic by falsely associating itself with well-known figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the scam falsely claims partnerships with established entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to bolster its false credibility.
• Potential Ponzi-Like Model. The scam operates on a pyramid-style referral system disseminated through social media, benefiting only initial participants and relying on later investments to sustain the illusion.
• Unrealistic Profit Promises. Promising improbable returns of 50-100-200%, Extrinex capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Extrinex.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Extrinex 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 masters may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto funds. As we previously figured out, these scoundrels have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what do these messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – this is another side of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful software onto your system.

Both extensions and attachments attached to email messages can serve as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this case, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As noted, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and strive to boost gains.

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