We Looked Into MUSK-SPACE: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Musk-space.us site surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly reveals it is, in truth, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and client-friendly service, Musk-space.us does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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MUSK-SPACE Scam Overview

Originally, MUSK-SPACE poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site 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 claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors use deepfake videos where those celebrities promote the fraud 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 glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

MUSK-SPACE Scam

Initially, MUSK-SPACE copies the layout of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Nelovax, Rodonyx or Pantera. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these deceptive websites are managed by a single gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the MUSK-SPACE Scam Works?

MUSK-SPACE is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Utilizing bots and paid ads (when possible), fraud actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users obtain an encouragement to register, attracted by the promise of receiving cryptocurrency prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, swindrels will not be able to 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, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the promised bonus right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have capital on your account. With MUSK-SPACE, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money 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 site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency 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 give your money back. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but for the Musk-space.us they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, scammers 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 grand 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 Musk-space.us. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with MUSK-SPACE 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 the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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 files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto savings. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no plan of returning your money. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing destructive software onto your device.

Both add-ons and files attached to email messages can function as a carrier for diverse malware. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds 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 seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize gains.

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