We Investigated Moneturo: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Moneturo.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 confirms it is, in truth, a fraudulent site.

Despite the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Moneturo.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Moneturo Scam Overview

Originally, Moneturo poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. 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, con actors use deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Moneturo Scam

To begin with, Moneturo repeats the design of multiple equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Jgyfgroup, Tonsgift or Mivrex. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Moneturo Scam Works?

Moneturo is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various 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 begin the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Employing bots and paid promotions (when possible), fraud actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users get a stimulus to sign up, attracted by the assurance of receiving crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Moneturo”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Moneturo, “Start earning with Moneturo – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – 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 data, 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, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 it at least usable for crypto purchases, 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

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require having funds on your account. In the case of Moneturo, users are also coerced to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent 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 deposited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the issues. When comparing the actual crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters have zero intentions to return your money. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, 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 funds back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Moneturo.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Moneturo.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. Moneturo 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. Moneturo 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. Moneturo 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%, Moneturo capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Moneturo.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Moneturo 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 timeline of the fraud, fraudsters may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of returning your funds. So, what do these emails and browser plugins represent? You guessed it right – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments added to email messages can function as a shell for diverse malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to give up and intend to boost gains.

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