We Investigated Holderceo: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Holderceo.com service popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can securely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, in truth, a fraudulent service.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Holderceo.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Holderceo Scam Overview

Originally, Holderceo poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, frauds employ deepfake videos where those celebrities promote the scam as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

Holderceo Scam

First and foremost, Holderceo repeats the layout of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Qavybit, Zodefi or Zinadex. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are operated by a single group of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Holderceo Scam Works?

Holderceo is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous 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 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 primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Using bots and paid ads (when feasible), scam actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebs that advertise 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 Holderceo 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 appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Holderceo”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Holderceo, “Start earning with Holderceo – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially as the gift 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 sign up using your personal info, rascals will not earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just said, 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, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have money on your account. In the case of Holderceo, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent 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 deposited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the actual crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters have no intentions to return your money. But to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will share 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 Holderceo.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Holderceo 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%, Holderceo exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Holderceo as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Holderceo 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. Holderceo.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. Holderceo 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 Holderceo 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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 fraud, its masters may contact you with particular files. 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 intention of restoring your funds. So, what do these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly running harmful applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and files added to emails can function as a shell for different malicious code. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As stated, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and aim to boost profits.

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