Investigating Mowdex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Mowdex.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Mowdex.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Mowdex Scam Overview

Originally, Mowdex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this site is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the scam as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Mowdex Scam

First and foremost, Mowdex repeats the appearance of many similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Jerkix, Financeautonomypro or Helonax. They are entirely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these fraudulent online platforms are managed by a single gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Mowdex Scam Works?

Mowdex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 complex psychological tricks that make the user believe in the legitimacy 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. Using bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors increase the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that promote 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 Mowdex in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the ads, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Mowdex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Mowdex, “Start earning with Mowdex – 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, uninformed users happily move on – especially as the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, crooks 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only 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 claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, 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 operations require you to have capital on your account. In the case of Mowdex, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 trading on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the site 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 have 0 intentions to send you money. But to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, scammers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will uncover more and more info of yours, 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 Mowdex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Mowdex 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%, Mowdex exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Mowdex as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Mowdex 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. Mowdex.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. Mowdex 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 Mowdex 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 duration of the fraud, rascals may get in touch with 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 already figured out, these scammers have no intent of returning your capital. So, what do these messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – this is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately installing harmful software onto your system.

Both extensions and files added to email messages can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this situation, 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 probability is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize gains.

Frequently asked questions