We Looked Into Payrelex: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Payrelex.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly reveals it is, in fact, a deceptive site.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Payrelex.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Payrelex Scam Overview

Originally, Payrelex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors employ deepfake videos with those celebs promote the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Payrelex Scam

To begin with, Payrelex shares the appearance of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Piotex, Coindats or Blogpx. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these fraudulent online platforms are led by a single team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Payrelex Scam Works?

Payrelex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use various 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 advanced 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 begin the fraud, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Utilizing bots and paid ads (when achievable), fraud actors increase the visibility of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users receive a stimulus to sign up, enticed by the commitment of getting cryptocurrency prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, swindrels will not 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 mentioned, scammers bait folks into signing up to get bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only 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, you cannot use the promised bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, 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

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require having money on your account. In the case of Payrelex, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent website. 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 comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website 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 return your money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, deceivers 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 should go through before getting your money back. And every check will uncover 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 Payrelex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Payrelex often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Payrelex.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Payrelex raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Payrelex.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Payrelex preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Payrelex as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Payrelex 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 course of the scam, its actors may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no intent of giving back your money. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly installing malicious software onto your device.

Both plugins and attachments attached to email messages can serve as a carrier for various malicious code. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and intend to boost profits.

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