We Investigated SolsTrade: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Solstrade.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, in fact, a deceptive site.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and client-friendly service, Solstrade.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, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

SolsTrade Scam Overview

Originally, SolsTrade poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that have relation to 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, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

SolsTrade Scam

Initially, SolsTrade repeats the design of numerous similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Btcdff, Skyxcoin or Gainglobopt. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Probably, all these deceptive sites are managed by the same gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the SolsTrade Scam Works?

SolsTrade is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use various 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 complex 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 begin the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned 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 SolsTrade in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an incentive to enroll, drawn by the assurance of receiving cryptocurrency prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

This is the last stage when it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, frauds 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 for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the promised 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 equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have capital on your account. In the case of SolsTrade, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing 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 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 have zero intentions to give your money back. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Solstrade.com they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Solstrade.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. SolsTrade employs fraudulent celebrity endorsements, often featuring names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. These false claims extend to fictitious partnerships with reputable entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite the absence of genuine connections.
• Implausible Earnings Claims. Promising remarkable returns of 50-100-200%, SolsTrade exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying SolsTrade as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. SolsTrade arouses suspicion by providing inadequate documentation about ownership, location, and registration. Furthermore, the lack of legitimate contact information and the recent registration of domain and social media profiles deepen skepticism.
• Exclusive Cryptocurrency Payments. Solstrade.com solely accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, refraining from traditional bank transfers and other payment methods. This approach not only shrouds the company’s identity but also prevents the possibility of requesting refunds.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral structure disseminated through social media. Nevertheless, only initial participants profit, often at the expense of funds brought in by subsequent members.
• Groundless Hype Tactics. SolsTrade utilizes fabricated claims about non-existent events, such as securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. This manipulative strategy aims to foster belief in money returns and encourages individuals to top up their accounts again.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with SolsTrade 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 the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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 scam, its actors may get in touch with you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already determined, these scoundrels have no plan of returning your capital. So, what can these emails and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly installing harmful applications onto your device.

Both add-ons and attachments added to email messages can act as a carrier for various malicious code. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to lose and strive to boost profits.

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