Recently, Lunarbet.fun website appeared, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably indicates it is, in truth, a fraudulent platform.
Despite the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Lunarbet.fun does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.
Lunarbet Scam Overview
Originally, Lunarbet poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this platform 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 real, frauds use AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around an obvious scam.
Lunarbet Scam
Initially, Lunarbet repeats the design of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Winix, Texbiom or Wixbest. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are led by a single team of fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Lunarbet.fun |
| Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
| IP Address | 104.21.80.1 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Lunarbet Scam Works?
Lunarbet is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical 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 scam, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when possible), fraud actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that advertise 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 Lunarbet in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes
Users obtain a stimulus to enroll, attracted by the promise of receiving crypto rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
After following the ads, users end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Lunarbet”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Lunarbet, “Start earning with Lunarbet – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that retrieving the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially as the bonus 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 information, 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 mentioned, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only 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, the alleged 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 equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require you to have funds on your account. With Lunarbet, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam website. 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, however, is where the victim notices the issues. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can spot 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 no intentions to return your money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Lunarbet.fun they are here only to make the wireout impossible.
By asking for your personal information, frauds 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will uncover more and more information, 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 Lunarbet.fun. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- False Celebrity Sponsorship. Lunarbet 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. Lunarbet.fun 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. Lunarbet 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. Lunarbet.fun 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%, Lunarbet preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Lunarbet as a scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Lunarbet 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.
- Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
- Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
- Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
- Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
- Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.
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, fraudsters may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we previously figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of returning your money. So, what do these email messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – this is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful software onto your computer.
Both extensions and files attached to email messages can function as a shell for diverse malware. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As previously mentioned, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and intend to maximize profits.
