We Investigated Play21arena: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Play21arena.com site appeared, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, actually, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Play21arena.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Play21arena Scam Overview

Originally, Play21arena poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this site is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, rascals use AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Play21arena Scam

Initially, Play21arena repeats the appearance of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Oxbeast, Jebinex or Xcasik. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these scam online platforms are operated by the same group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Play21arena Scam Works?

Play21arena is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar overall layout. Another common 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 sophisticated 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 initiate the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), fraud actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain 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 enrolls the service immediately.

Promotions of cryptoscams like Play21arena in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Play21arena”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Play21arena, “Start earning with Play21arena – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that unlocking the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal information, swindrels will not 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, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 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 kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Play21arena, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 trading on this site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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 give your money back. Though to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Play21arena.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, scammers 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 money back. And each of these checks will share more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then marketed 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 Play21arena.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Play21arena 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 Play21arena 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 Play21arena, 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 Play21arena is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Play21arena 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 fraud, its actors may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we earlier figured out, these deceivers have no plan of restoring your money. So, what do these email messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – this is another side of the scam designed to entice you into deliberately installing malicious applications onto your device.

Both add-ons and attachments added to emails can function as a shell for diverse malware. In this case, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have nothing to give up and aim to maximize profits.

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