We Looked at the Evidence: Is Muskrun Legit or Scam?

Recently, Muskrun.com service popped up, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, in fact, a deceptive platform.

Despite the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Muskrun.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Muskrun Scam Overview

Originally, Muskrun poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals use deepfake 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 mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Muskrun Scam

First and foremost, Muskrun repeats the layout of numerous equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Mucela, Cemola or Expoviex. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are managed by a single team of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Muskrun Scam Works?

Muskrun is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To initiate the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and paid promotions (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that promote 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 Muskrun in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive a stimulus to sign up, attracted by the promise of receiving cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To enhance the appeal of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Muskrun”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Muskrun, “Start earning with Muskrun – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unexperienced 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 info, crooks will not be able to earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just said, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is 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, the promised bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, 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. In the case of Muskrun, users are also coerced to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash 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 site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw 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 swindlers are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout 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 multiple other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And every check will reveal more and more info of yours, 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 Muskrun.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Muskrun 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 duration of the scam, its actors may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto funds. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no plan of returning your money. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – that is another side of the scam designed to throw you into willingly installing destructive programs onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments included to emails can function as a shell for different malware. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always above zero. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize gains.

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