We Looked at the Evidence: Is Moon-group Legit or Scam?

Recently, Moon-group.top site surfaced, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that clearly confirms it is, in fact, a fraudulent service.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and customer-centric service, Moon-group.top does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Moon-group Scam Overview

Originally, Moon-group poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing 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 claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the scam 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 glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Moon-group Scam

To begin with, Moon-group repeats the design of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Fixanu, Mysticjackpotia or Nemorim. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same group of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Moon-group Scam Works?

Moon-group is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the same 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 complex 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 scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), fraud actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Moon-group”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Moon-group, “Start earning with Moon-group – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that obtaining the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – especially since the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, frauds 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 said, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely 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, the claimed bonus is not available to use right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency purchases require having funds on your account. With Moon-group, users are also coerced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can spot 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels are naught on intentions to give your money back. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Moon-group.top they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, 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 reveal 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 Moon-group.top. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Moon-group does not provide any documentation about its ownership, location or registration. No legitimate contact details are given either. Moreover, it appears that the domain and all social network pages were registered quite recently.
• Fake sponsorship from a celebrity. Scams like Moon-group like to pick a celebrity as a sponsor of this entire campaign. For obvious reasons, fraudsters generally choose Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, Mark Zuckerberg, and similar celebrities. They do not disdain claiming partnership with a company as well. Even though Coinbase, Binance or MetaMask never heard of Moon-group, they do not care – this creates a halo of credibility.
• Potential Ponzi Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral system to spread reach through social media. In fact, only the first members will receive the payoff, at the cost of the money brought by other members.
• Hype without facts. Frauds can cheer up their victims from time to time, using claims about non-existent events. “We got contracts with Coinbase”, “Elon Musk mentioned us as the most prolific crypto project” – you could likely hear something like that. This is made to make people believe in their money return. This can be the sauce to make people top-up their accounts once again.
• Crypto-only incoming payments. Whether the user tries to top-up the account, hackers will only accept payments in crypto – no bank transfers or other payment methods. Such an approach completely hides the identity of the company and deprives you of the ability to ask for a refund.
• Claims are too good to be true. Let’s be sane and sober: even in crypto space, there are not many places where you can earn 50-100-200%. Being able to participate in all of them is nearly impossible, as well as it is impossible to insure or hedge all the risks. Even by that reason alone I can tell that the Moon-group is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Moon-group 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, fraudsters may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto savings. As we already determined, these rascals have no intent of giving back your money. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another element of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful programs onto your system.

Both plugins and files added to emails can serve as a carrier for diverse malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always existent. As noted, their morality is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and strive to boost gains.

Frequently asked questions