The Lucky-vaults Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Lucky-vaults.com website appeared, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable evidence that clearly reveals it is, actually, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Lucky-vaults.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Lucky-vaults Scam Overview

Originally, Lucky-vaults poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this platform is backing from celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, frauds use AI-generated videos with those celebs 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 blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Lucky-vaults Scam

First and foremost, Lucky-vaults shares the appearance of many similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Gearsplay, Velon or Xelup. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these fraudulent sites are led by the same group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Lucky-vaults Scam Works?

Lucky-vaults is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another shared 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 initiate the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Using bots and paid ads (when achievable), scam actors increase the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebrities that advertise 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 Lucky-vaults in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal information, swindrels will not be able to 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 info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the promised bonus is not available to use 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. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require having money on your account. In the case of Lucky-vaults, users are also compelled to top up to get 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 committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This is where the issues start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice 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

Needless to say that scoundrels have no intentions to return your money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Lucky-vaults.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, frauds just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your money back. And every check 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 Lucky-vaults.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Lucky-vaults 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%, Lucky-vaults exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Lucky-vaults as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Lucky-vaults 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. Lucky-vaults.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. Lucky-vaults 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 Lucky-vaults 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 scam, its masters may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto savings. As we already determined, these scoundrels have no intention of giving back your funds. So, what can these messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – this is another side of the scam designed to throw you into willingly running destructive programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and files attached to email messages can act as a carrier for various malware. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have no principles to give up and strive to maximize revenues.

Frequently asked questions