The Ranodex Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Ranodex.com website popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can securely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a deceptive platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and client-friendly service, Ranodex.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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Ranodex Scam Overview

Originally, Ranodex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site is backing from 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 more realistic, frauds use AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fake crypto service as 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Ranodex Scam

First and foremost, Ranodex shares the layout of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Tonexup, Bufbtc or Jolotex. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Probably, all these fraudulent sites are operated by a single group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Ranodex Scam Works?

Ranodex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the similar 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 sophisticated 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 begin the deceptive scheme, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), scam actors intensify the visibility of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users get an incentive to register, enticed by the promise of receiving crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the ads, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Ranodex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Ranodex, “Start earning with Ranodex – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that obtaining the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the gift 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 data, crooks will not be able to 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 mentioned, deceivers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal info 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, 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 it at least usable for crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have money on your account. In the case of Ranodex, 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 scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the credited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the actual 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 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 have zero intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more legitimate, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the Ranodex.com they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for 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 a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And every check will share more and more info of yours, 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 Ranodex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Ranodex 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 timeline of the fraud, rascals may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto savings. As we already determined, these deceivers have no plan of giving back your capital. So, what do these messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – that is another side of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately running destructive applications onto your system.

Both plugins and files included to emails can serve as a shell for different malware. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As previously mentioned, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have no scruples to lose and aim to maximize gains.

Remove spyware with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

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