We Investigated Locerax: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Locerax.com service appeared, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably confirms it is, in truth, a deceptive platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Locerax.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Locerax Scam Overview

Originally, Locerax poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable 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 claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, frauds use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as if it was 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.

Locerax Scam

Initially, Locerax repeats the layout of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Greenbit, Depnul or Bitsaind. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these scam sites are led by the same team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Locerax Scam Works?

Locerax is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another common 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Employing bots and paid promotions (when achievable), fraud actors boost the presence of their scam activities to possible 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, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users receive a stimulus to sign up, attracted by the promise of getting crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the appeal of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the ads, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Locerax”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Locerax, “Start earning with Locerax – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that unlocking the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, crooks 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 mentioned, scammers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters 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 at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require having funds on your account. With Locerax, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. 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, however, is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the money 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 have 0 intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the Locerax.com they are here only to make the withdrawal 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 money back. And each of these checks will reveal 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 Locerax.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Locerax.com insists on cryptocurrency payments exclusively, excluding conventional methods like bank transfers. This strategy ensures anonymity for the scam and eliminates any possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Credentials. Locerax arouses suspicion by failing to provide critical information about ownership, location, and legal registration. The lack of valid contact details and the recent creation of domain and social media profiles cast doubt on its legitimacy.
• Baseless Hype Generation. Locerax resorts to fabricating non-existent achievements, such as contracts with Coinbase or endorsements from Elon Musk, to manipulate emotions and enhance the perception of potential returns, enticing victims to invest more.
• Fictitious Celebrity Association. Locerax employs a deceptive tactic by falsely associating itself with well-known figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the scam falsely claims partnerships with established entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to bolster its false credibility.
• Potential Ponzi-Like Model. The scam operates on a pyramid-style referral system disseminated through social media, benefiting only initial participants and relying on later investments to sustain the illusion.
• Unrealistic Profit Promises. Promising improbable returns of 50-100-200%, Locerax capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Locerax.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Locerax 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 timeline of the fraud, its actors may reach out to you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto funds. As we previously determined, these scoundrels have no plan of returning your capital. So, what do these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly running malicious applications onto your device.

Both plugins and attachments attached to email messages can serve as a carrier for various malicious software. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always existent. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize gains.

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