Recently, Futuretrades.net site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, in fact, a fraudulent site.
Despite what FutureTrade site says, they will never pay off your money. Regardless of the money displayed in the “member area”, there is zero way to retrieve even a single cent. All commitments regarding crypto incentives are hollow as well.
FutureTrade Scam Overview
The key service that FutureTrade strives to provide is a protected and user-friendly cryptocurrency wallet service. The site pledges exchange solutions, tools for controlling wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar functions. In fact, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto trading platform, like Binance or Coinbase. However, it in fact solely serves as a shell needed to mislead the cautious.
To begin with, FutureTrade mimics the layout of multiple equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Koylex, Adexcoins or Poksten. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these fraudulent online platforms are operated by the same team of scammers.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Futuretrades.net |
| Hosting | AS44493 Chelyabinsk-Signal LLC Russia, Chelyabinsk |
| IP Address | 185.118.166.110 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the FutureTrade Scam Works?
FutureTrade is yet another online platform within a vast network of associated crypto deceptive webpages. The administrators employ various brand names and sites, like Futuretrades.net, to trap victims. Nonetheless, these deceptive sites have in common the same designs, terms of service, and About Us content. This reveals their beginnings as components of the equal fraudulent network, which endorses the similar form of deception under various appearances. The fraudsters just copy the equal fraudulent website under different names to fool users into believing they are joining a new opportunity. However, in actuality, it’s the equal group of fraudsters orchestrating the deceptive promises and efforts to grab deposited cryptocurrency. The operators shrewdly utilize psychological tactics and enticing invitations to execute their unscrupulous schemes.
Step 1: Spreading
To start the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors intensify the visibility of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. This approach enables them to create a broad net and interact with their focused audience. The group typically comprises of cryptocurrency fans seeking prospects to generate profits.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
People who demonstrate interest go to Futuretrades.net via links included in promotions or bot-generated posts. The website utilizes captivating visuals, design elements that appear authentic, and claims of holding a legitimate license, all aimed to convey an initial impression of credibility.
Step 3: Data Gathering
To claim their rewards, users need to deliberately set up an account on FutureTrade and get instructions to submit sensitive and personal information throughout the enrollment process. This includes linking their cryptocurrency wallets, providing email addresses, supplying phone numbers, sending in identification papers, and more.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Once enrolled, users notice considerable amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at hundreds of dollars, within their FutureTrade wallets. Nonetheless, as is common with such incentives, you cannot withdraw them before topping up your account. Normally, a funds transfer of $100 is required to get the sign-up bonus. This prerequisite serves as the trap that ultimately culminates to the money loss.
Step 5: Disappear
Signs of Scam
I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Futuretrades.net. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- False Celebrity Sponsorship. FutureTrade 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. Futuretrades.net 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. FutureTrade 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. Futuretrades.net 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%, FutureTrade preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling FutureTrade as a scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with FutureTrade 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 course of the fraud, scoundrels may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto savings. As we previously determined, these deceivers have no intention of giving back your money. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly running destructive applications onto your computer.
Both add-ons and files added to email messages can serve as a carrier for diverse malware. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always existent. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and strive to maximize profits.
Frequently asked questions
- Contact your bank or card provider and ask about chargeback options.
- Save screenshots, receipts, tracking numbers, and emails as evidence.
- Change reused passwords and enable two-factor authentication on important accounts.
- Watch for follow-up phishing emails pretending to offer refunds or delivery updates.
