Gerapay Review: Legit or Scam? Read This First

Recently, Gerapay.one website appeared, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly reveals it is, in truth, a fraudulent platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Gerapay.one does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Gerapay Scam Overview

Originally, Gerapay poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. 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, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fraud 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Gerapay Scam

Initially, Gerapay copies the appearance of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Easybitex, Doruvex or Dexmi. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these deceptive websites are operated by a single group of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Gerapay Scam Works?

Gerapay 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 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Using bots and paid promotions (when possible), fraud actors increase the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI 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 registers the service immediately.

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

Users obtain an incentive to enroll, enticed by the promise of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Gerapay”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Gerapay, “Start earning with Gerapay – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially since the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, frauds will not 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, deceivers bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require having money on your account. With Gerapay, users are also coerced to top up to use 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 committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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 swindlers have 0 intentions to return your money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Gerapay.one they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal data, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Gerapay.one. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Gerapay 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, its masters may get in touch with you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we previously figured out, these scammers have no intent of returning your capital. So, what do these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – this is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful programs onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments attached to email messages can function as a shell for various malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always existent. As noted, their conscience is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no scruples to lose and strive to boost revenues.

Frequently asked questions