We Investigated Shaxdex: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Shaxdex.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a platform where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly indicates it is, actually, a scam site.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, dependable, and customer-centric service, Shaxdex.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Shaxdex Scam Overview

Originally, Shaxdex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service is backing from 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 real, frauds employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For known 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.

Shaxdex Scam

First and foremost, Shaxdex shares the layout of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Trezova, Xelunor or Xerunax. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these scam websites are operated by the same gang of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Shaxdex Scam Works?

Shaxdex is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers 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 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 establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), fraud actors boost the exposure of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away 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 Shaxdex in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to register, enticed by the assurance of receiving crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all for free. To augment the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promotions, users end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Shaxdex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Shaxdex, “Start earning with Shaxdex – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – 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 data, crooks 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 mentioned, scammers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, 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

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require you to have funds on your account. With Shaxdex, 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 scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing 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 retrieve the money 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. Though to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Shaxdex.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, 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 uncover more and more info of yours, 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 Shaxdex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Shaxdex 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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 scam, scoundrels may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we already figured out, these deceivers have no plan of returning your money. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly installing destructive applications onto your system.

Both extensions and attachments included to email messages can function as a shell for various malware. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always existent. As noted, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize gains.

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