We Investigated Pagewex: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Pagewex.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly indicates it is, actually, a scam platform.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Pagewex.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Pagewex Scam Overview

Originally, Pagewex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this site 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 more realistic, frauds use deepfake videos with those celebs promote the scam as if it was 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 an obvious scam.

Pagewex Scam

Initially, Pagewex repeats the appearance of many similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Nenotux, Miubits or Kiyoex. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these scam websites are operated by the same gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Pagewex Scam Works?

Pagewex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Using bots and paid promotions (when possible), scam actors boost the presence of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal information, frauds 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 data needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available to use right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have money on your account. With Pagewex, users are also coerced to top up to get 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 pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this website hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters are naught on intentions to give your money back. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal information, frauds 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 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 Pagewex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Pagewex 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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, rascals may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto savings. As we already figured out, these scammers have no intention of giving back your money. So, what can these emails and browser plugins represent? You guessed it right – this is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly installing harmful applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and files added to emails can serve as a carrier for various malicious code. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and aim to maximize profits.

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