We Investigated Sellebit: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Sellebit.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly indicates it is, actually, a deceptive platform.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and customer-centric service, Sellebit.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a dirty 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!

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Sellebit Scam Overview

Originally, Sellebit poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Sellebit Scam

To begin with, Sellebit shares the layout of many similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Youtybit, Saniea or Coinnexup. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these fraudulent online platforms are managed by a single team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Sellebit Scam Works?

Sellebit is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 start the scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), fraud actors increase the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using generative AI for creating videos 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 registers the service immediately.

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

Users obtain a stimulus to enroll, drawn by the assurance of obtaining crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, rascals 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 said, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively 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 alleged bonus is not available to use 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any crypto operations require you to have money on your account. With Sellebit, 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 pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that swindlers are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal information, frauds 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And every check will uncover 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 Sellebit.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Sellebit 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. Sellebit.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. Sellebit 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. Sellebit.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%, Sellebit preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Sellebit as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Sellebit 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 masters may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we earlier determined, these deceivers have no plan of restoring your funds. So, what do these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately installing harmful applications onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments attached to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize profits.

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