We Investigated Fridaybit: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Fridaybit.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly indicates it is, in truth, a fraudulent platform.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Fridaybit.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Fridaybit Scam Overview

Originally, Fridaybit poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors use deepfake videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. Obviously, 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.

Fridaybit Scam

First and foremost, Fridaybit copies the layout of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Kanbyxbit, Eurokrypto or Kerdyfx. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these fraudulent websites are operated by the same group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Fridaybit Scam Works?

Fridaybit is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same 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 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 initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Fridaybit”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Fridaybit, “Start earning with Fridaybit – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially since the reward 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 register using your personal information, 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, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require having money on your account. In the case of Fridaybit, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups 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 website hoping to use all the credited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the issues start to surface. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe 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

Needless to say that swindlers have no intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Fridaybit.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting 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 a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And every check will share 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 Fridaybit.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Fridaybit 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 duration of the scam, rascals may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we previously figured out, these rascals have no plan of giving back your money. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your system.

Both plugins and attachments added to email messages can function as a shell for various malicious code. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As stated, their ethics is of no concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have nothing to lose and aim to maximize gains.

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