We Investigated Nelonex: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Nelonex.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Nelonex.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Nelonex Scam Overview

Originally, Nelonex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service 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 blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Nelonex Scam

Initially, Nelonex repeats the layout of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Waured, Jonley or Fovelex. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these deceptive sites are managed by a single gang of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Nelonex Scam Works?

Nelonex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several 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 sophisticated 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 well-liked social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), scam actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users get an incentive to register, drawn by the assurance of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Nelonex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Nelonex, “Start earning with Nelonex – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that claiming the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially as the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, swindrels will not earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, 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. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged 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 sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require having funds on your account. In the case of Nelonex, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most 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 transferred capital and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have zero intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Nelonex.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal info, scammers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will share 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 Nelonex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Nelonex 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 fraud, its actors may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto assets. As we previously figured out, these deceivers have no intention of giving back your funds. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another side of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately running destructive programs onto your computer.

Both plugins and files included to emails can act as a shell for different malicious code. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of little concern, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize revenues.

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