We Investigated Noxdep: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Noxdep.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that clearly confirms it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Noxdep.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never gives them back. 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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Noxdep Scam Overview

Originally, Noxdep poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service 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 a transparent scam.

Noxdep Scam

Initially, Noxdep repeats the appearance of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Necomex, Menelex or Meculex. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these scam online platforms are operated by the same team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Noxdep Scam Works?

Noxdep is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another shared 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), scam actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities that promote 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 Noxdep in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get a stimulus to sign up, drawn by the promise of obtaining crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promotions, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Noxdep”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Noxdep, “Start earning with Noxdep – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that retrieving the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially since the bonus 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, crooks will not be able to 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 info needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, 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 cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what starts the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency purchases require having funds on your account. With Noxdep, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most 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 participating on this website hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters have 0 intentions to give your money back. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Noxdep.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, deceivers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And every check will reveal 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 Noxdep.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Noxdep 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 Noxdep 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 Noxdep, 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 Noxdep is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Noxdep 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, scoundrels may get in touch with you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already determined, these scammers have no plan of restoring your capital. So, what do these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and files attached to email messages can act as a carrier for different malicious code. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize revenues.

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