Recently, Stakexzero.com site appeared, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably confirms it is, in fact, a scam site.
Regardless of the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Stakexzero.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.
Stakexzero Scam Overview
Originally, Stakexzero poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in 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 AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as 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 a transparent scam.
First and foremost, Stakexzero copies the design of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Trustexer, Gctzy or Noretex. They are entirely undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these fraudulent sites are led by the same team of scammers.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
Website | Stakexzero.com |
Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
IP Address | 172.67.209.70 |
Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Stakexzero Scam Works?
Stakexzero is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly 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 fraud, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Using bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), fraud actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the mentioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.
Users receive an encouragement to enroll, attracted by the commitment of receiving cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the appeal 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
After following the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Stakexzero”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Stakexzero, “Start earning with Stakexzero – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially as the reward appears to be right behind the corner.
At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, 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 – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.
As it turns out, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Eventually, any crypto purchases require having capital on your account. With Stakexzero, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 deposited money and withdraw them.
This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe 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
Needless to say that scoundrels are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.
By requesting your personal information, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will reveal 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 Stakexzero.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Unsubstantiated Credibility. Stakexzero 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%, Stakexzero exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Stakexzero as a scam.
- Dubious Corporate Information. Stakexzero 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. Stakexzero.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. Stakexzero 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 Stakexzero 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, fraudsters may reach out to you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we earlier figured out, these scammers have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what can these email messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed it right – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly running malicious software onto your device.
Both add-ons and files added to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malicious software. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their reputation is already severely tarnished. They have no scruples to lose and intend to boost profits.
Remove spyware with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware
We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common malicious programs as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove spyware as well as other malware hiding on your computer.
To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:
1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.
2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.
3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.
4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.
Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.
5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.
6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.
8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.
Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.
Frequently asked questions
The vast majority of information posted on the Stakexzero site is false. It is either fabricated, or a manipulation that misses the context of mentioned events. However, things like quotes or other interactive elements related to current prices may be trustworthy. But I would rather avoid using them as a primary source of information.
No, there is no legitimate information on the Stakexzero site. The operators of this site use fabricated details and deceptive tactics to create an appearance of credibility, such as appealing visuals and claims of being a licensed company. However, these claims are false, and the site is part of a larger network of interconnected crypto scam sites designed to defraud victims. The scammers manipulate users into providing sensitive personal information and making deposits, ultimately leading to the loss of funds.
Unfortunately, recovering funds lost to a scam like Stakexzero can be extremely challenging, if not impossible. Scammers often operate from obscure locations and use various tactics to cover their tracks, making it difficult to trace or retrieve the stolen funds. In many cases, these scams are designed to exploit victims and disappear once they have obtained the money.
Spotting crypto trading scams requires vigilance and a critical eye. Here are some tips to help you identify potential crypto trading scams in the future:
- Verify Regulation and Licensing. Before proceeding, ensure that the platform or service is regulated and possesses the necessary licenses from relevant authorities. Scammers often operate without proper authorization.
- Resist Urgency. Be cautious of tactics that create a false sense of urgency to pressure you into quick decisions. Legitimate investments provide ample time for research and consideration.
- Consult Reviews and Feedback. Seek independent reviews and feedback from other traders. While positive reviews can be fabricated, negative reviews often reveal valuable insights.
- Question Unrealistic Promises. Approach offers with unrealistically high returns or guaranteed profits skeptically. If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Scrutinize Celebrity Endorsements. Exercise skepticism when faced with endorsements from celebrities or public figures. Scammers frequently create fake endorsements to enhance credibility.
If you have become a victim of a Stakexzero or similar crypto trading scam, it’s important to take immediate action to minimize further damage and increase the chances of recovering your losses. Here’s what you should do:
- Notify Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Should you have employed a cryptocurrency exchange for transactions linked to the scam, inform the exchange about the fraudulent activity. In certain cases, they could extend their assistance.
- Contact Financial Institutions. If you conducted any payments or deposits through your credit card or bank account, promptly notify your financial institution. They might offer assistance in contesting transactions or initiating chargebacks.
- Thoroughly Document. Gather and safeguard all pertinent information, including emails, screenshots, transaction records, and any correspondence with the scammers. This documentation holds utmost importance for reporting the scam and seeking assistance.
- Immediately Halt Communication. Once you recognize that you have fallen victim to a scam, cease all communication with the scammers. Refrain from responding to their emails, messages, or phone calls.
- Seek Legal Advice. Consult with a legal professional who specializes in fraud or financial matters. They can provide advice on potential legal actions you can take to recover your funds.
- Consult Legal Counsel. Seek counsel from a legal expert specialized in fraud or financial matters. They can provide guidance on potential legal avenues for recovering your funds.
- Inform the Authorities. Lodge an official report with your local law enforcement agency and relevant regulatory bodies within your country. Present them with the amassed evidence. This step instigates investigations and enhances awareness about the scam.