We Investigated Fatbon: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Fatbon.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly reveals it is, in truth, a fraudulent platform.

Despite the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Fatbon.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

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Fatbon Scam Overview

Originally, Fatbon poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is partnerships with 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 more realistic, con actors employ deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, 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.

Fatbon Scam

First and foremost, Fatbon repeats the design of many similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Paybeast, Lokesi or Cryptoalley. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are managed by the same gang of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Fatbon Scam Works?

Fatbon is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same 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 legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored promotions (when achievable), fraud actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users obtain an incentive to register, attracted by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

This is the last stage when it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, 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, scammers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only 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, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, the user should 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. In the case of Fatbon, users are also coerced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the transferred money and withdraw them.

This is where the issues start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can spot 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 swindlers have 0 intentions to give your money back. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case 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 numerous other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Fatbon.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Fatbon 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%, Fatbon exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Fatbon as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Fatbon 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. Fatbon.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. Fatbon 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 Fatbon 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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 course of the fraud, its masters may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto savings. As we earlier determined, these scammers have no plan of restoring your funds. So, what can these messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately installing destructive applications onto your device.

Both add-ons and files added to emails can act as a shell for diverse malware. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As noted, their morality is of no concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize gains.

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