The FirstCryptoMiners Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Firstcryptominers.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably indicates it is, in truth, a scam site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and client-friendly service, Firstcryptominers.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

FirstCryptoMiners Scam Overview

Originally, FirstCryptoMiners poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as 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.

FirstCryptoMiners Scam

Initially, FirstCryptoMiners copies the design of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Exodia, Binance or Node. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these fraudulent online platforms are led by a single group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the FirstCryptoMiners Scam Works?

FirstCryptoMiners is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the similar 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 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 start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), scam actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away 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 enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users receive an incentive to sign up, enticed by the commitment of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with FirstCryptoMiners”, “Your crypto savings are secured with FirstCryptoMiners, “Start earning with FirstCryptoMiners – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And since 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 skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, swindrels 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 for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto purchases require having funds on your account. In the case of FirstCryptoMiners, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this scam website. 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 deposited capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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 scoundrels have zero intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And every check will reveal more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then sold 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 Firstcryptominers.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. FirstCryptoMiners 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. Firstcryptominers.com 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. FirstCryptoMiners 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. Firstcryptominers.com 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%, FirstCryptoMiners preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling FirstCryptoMiners as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with FirstCryptoMiners 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 course of the scam, its actors may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we already figured out, these rascals have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another component of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments included to email messages can serve as a shell for diverse malware. In this case, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to lose and aim to maximize profits.

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