Investigating Relonur: Legit or Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Relonur.com site appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, in fact, a deceptive site.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and client-friendly service, Relonur.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Relonur Scam Overview

Originally, Relonur poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable marketing 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 real, rascals employ deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as 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 vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Relonur Scam

Initially, Relonur repeats the layout of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Relomir, Venotor or Matrixbit. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are led by the same gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Relonur Scam Works?

Relonur is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), scam actors boost the exposure of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that promote 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 Relonur in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an incentive to sign up, drawn by the commitment of getting crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Relonur”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Relonur, “Start earning with Relonur – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that obtaining the promoted bonus requires registration. And as 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 get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, rascals will not be able to earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just said, frauds bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info 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, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require having capital on your account. With Relonur, users are also coerced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the transferred money 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 funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have 0 intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal 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 multiple other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And each of these checks will share more and more info of yours, 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 Relonur.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Relonur 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 duration of the fraud, scoundrels may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we already determined, these scoundrels have no plan of giving back your capital. So, what can these emails and browser plugins represent? You guessed – this is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running destructive programs onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments included to emails can act as a shell for various malicious software. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to give up and aim to maximize profits.

Frequently asked questions