Is Lazto Legit or Another Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Lazto.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly indicates it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Lazto.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Lazto Scam Overview

Originally, Lazto poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that have relation to 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 more realistic, frauds use deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service 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 blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Lazto Scam

To begin with, Lazto copies the appearance of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Vunao, Solpu or Marsyox. They are entirely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are operated by a single group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Lazto Scam Works?

Lazto is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 advanced 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 begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), scam actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities 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 Lazto in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to sign up, drawn by the promise of receiving crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the ads, users end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Lazto”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Lazto, “Start earning with Lazto – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that obtaining the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially since the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, frauds will not 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this data 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 alleged bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency operations require having money on your account. In the case of Lazto, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority 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 participating on this site hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing 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 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 give your money back. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Lazto.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal data, deceivers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And every check will share more and more information, 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 Lazto.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Lazto 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 course of the fraud, scoundrels may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we previously figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of returning your capital. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful applications onto your device.

Both add-ons and files included to email messages can serve as a shell for different malicious software. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to give up and intend to maximize revenues.

Frequently asked questions