Investigating Fonalax: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Fonalax.com site appeared, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Fonalax.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Fonalax Scam Overview

Originally, Fonalax poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors use deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

Fonalax Scam

Initially, Fonalax repeats the layout of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Zelorax, Velucea or Globe. They are entirely identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Probably, all these scam websites are led by the same team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Fonalax Scam Works?

Fonalax is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the similar overall layout. Another shared 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 start the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain 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 registers the service immediately.

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

Users receive an incentive to enroll, enticed by the commitment of getting cryptocurrency benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To enhance the appeal of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Fonalax”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Fonalax, “Start earning with Fonalax – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially as 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 sign up using your personal info, rascals 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 said, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for crypto 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

It is obvious that any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. With Fonalax, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash 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 deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the funds 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 return your money. Though to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will uncover more and more info of yours, 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 Fonalax.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Fonalax 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%, Fonalax exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Fonalax as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Fonalax 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. Fonalax.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. Fonalax 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 Fonalax 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 course of the scam, fraudsters may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no plan of returning your funds. So, what can these emails and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – that is another component of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately installing malicious applications onto your system.

Both extensions and attachments attached to emails can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As noted, their conscience is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no scruples to give up and strive to boost revenues.

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