We Investigated Petidbit: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Petidbit.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Despite the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Petidbit.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any stories about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Petidbit Scam Overview

Originally, Petidbit poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Petidbit Scam

Initially, Petidbit repeats the design of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Kodronot, 12xtrades or Mellcoinkon. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these fraudulent sites are led by the same gang of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Petidbit Scam Works?

Petidbit is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another mutual 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 legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), fraud actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that advertise 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 Petidbit in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain an encouragement to register, enticed by the promise of getting crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promotions, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Petidbit”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Petidbit, “Start earning with Petidbit – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, swindrels will not earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just said, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the promised bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. With Petidbit, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto 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 are naught on intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal data, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will share more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then sold 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 Petidbit.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Petidbit employs fraudulent celebrity endorsements, often featuring names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. These false claims extend to fictitious partnerships with reputable entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite the absence of genuine connections.
• Implausible Earnings Claims. Promising remarkable returns of 50-100-200%, Petidbit exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Petidbit as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Petidbit arouses suspicion by providing inadequate documentation about ownership, location, and registration. Furthermore, the lack of legitimate contact information and the recent registration of domain and social media profiles deepen skepticism.
• Exclusive Cryptocurrency Payments. Petidbit.com solely accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, refraining from traditional bank transfers and other payment methods. This approach not only shrouds the company’s identity but also prevents the possibility of requesting refunds.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral structure disseminated through social media. Nevertheless, only initial participants profit, often at the expense of funds brought in by subsequent members.
• Groundless Hype Tactics. Petidbit utilizes fabricated claims about non-existent events, such as securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. This manipulative strategy aims to foster belief in money returns and encourages individuals to top up their accounts again.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Petidbit 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 course of the fraud, its actors may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we previously determined, these scammers have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what can these emails and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful programs onto your system.

Both plugins and attachments attached to emails can function as a carrier for different malicious software. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As previously mentioned, their morality is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no scruples to lose and aim to maximize revenues.

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