The Geldbost Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Geldbost.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably indicates it is, in fact, a scam site.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Geldbost.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Geldbost Scam Overview

Originally, Geldbost poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, frauds use deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious 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.

Geldbost Scam

To begin with, Geldbost copies the appearance of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Fonalax, Zelorax or Velucea. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these scam sites are led by a single gang of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Geldbost Scam Works?

Geldbost is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the similar overall layout. Another mutual 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities that promote 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 Geldbost in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to register, enticed by the commitment of receiving crypto benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promotions, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Geldbost”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Geldbost, “Start earning with Geldbost – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially as 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 info, rascals will not be able to earn even a nickel 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 for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available to use 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

Eventually, any crypto purchases require having capital on your account. In the case of Geldbost, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the issues. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw 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 are naught on intentions to send you money. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal info, scammers 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 funds back. And each of these checks will uncover more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded 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 Geldbost.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Geldbost 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, rascals may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we earlier figured out, these scammers have no plan of returning your funds. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? Correct – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately running destructive programs onto your system.

Both plugins and files added to emails can function as a shell for various malicious code. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always existent. As noted, their morality is of no concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to lose and strive to boost gains.

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