Recently, Nicehash.farm site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, in truth, a fraudulent platform.
Contrary to the statements of Nicehash.farm, they won’t ever refund your money. Even though the numbers displayed in the “member area”, there is absolutely no possibility to take out even a cent. All pledges regarding crypto rewards are empty as well.
Nice-Hash Scam Overview
The key feature that Nice-Hash attempts to provide is a secure and user-friendly cryptocurrency wallet service. The site promises exchange facilities, tools for managing wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar stuff. In fact, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto exchange, akin to Binance or Coinbase. However, it in fact exclusively serves as a shell intended to fool the cautious.
Nice-Hash Scam
To begin with, Nice-Hash reproduces the layout of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Bmnetworkfx, Roi or Tradersprofitsfxt. They are entirely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these scam websites are led by a single gang of swindrels.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Nicehash.farm |
| Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
| IP Address | 172.67.169.167 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Nice-Hash Scam Works?
Nice-Hash is yet another webpage within a wide-ranging network of associated crypto deceptive platforms. The administrators employ different brand titles and sites, like Nicehash.farm, to ensnare victims. Nonetheless, these false sites possess matching website designs, terms of service, and About Us content. This exposes their origins as a part of the equal criminal network, which endorses the identical form of scam under various disguises. The scammers merely duplicate the equal scam website under various names to mislead users into believing they are participating in a fresh platform. However, in actuality, it’s the same system of fraudsters orchestrating the fraudulent promises and attempts to take deposited money. The operators skillfully make use of psychological strategies and appealing offers to execute their dishonest plans.
Step 1: Spreading
To start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Using bots and sponsored promotions (when possible), scam actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to potential victims. This tactic enables them to create a wide net and engage with their aimed audience. The group typically comprises of cryptocurrency enthusiasts looking for prospects to earn profits.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
People who express interest check out Nicehash.farm via links included in advertisements or robotic posts. The site uses captivating visuals, design features that appear genuine, and claims of holding a legitimate license, all aimed to present an initial image of reliability.
Step 3: Data Gathering
To claim their prizes, users are required to actively set up an profile on Nice-Hash and receive instructions to provide sensitive and personal data throughout the registration procedure. This includes linking their cryptocurrency wallets, sharing email addresses, giving phone numbers, submitting identification documents, and the like.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Once enrolled, users witness significant amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at thousands of dollars, within their Nice-Hash wallets. Nevertheless, as it usually happens with such rewards, you are unable to withdraw them before topping up your account. Normally, a deposit of $100 is required to withdraw the sign-up bonus. This stipulation serves as the enticement that eventually leads to the money loss.
Step 5: Disappear
The moment the funds transfer is sent, the scammers terminate all contact. They proceed to block users, delete accounts, and disappear with both the deposited money and critical personal information. The phony rewards persist perpetually uncredited, as they lack real existence. They act purely as a fraudulent strategy. This method forms the foundation for the deceivers’ ability to mislead victims and embezzle hard-earned funds through their deceptive web crypto scam.
Signs of Scam
I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Nicehash.farm. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Absent company details. Nice-Hash 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 Nice-Hash 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 Nice-Hash, 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 Nice-Hash is a definite scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Nice-Hash 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, its masters may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto savings. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no intention of returning your money. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? You guessed it right – that is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly installing harmful software onto your system.
Both add-ons and attachments added to emails can act as a carrier for different malware. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of no concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize revenues.
