The Starkalt Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Starkalt.com site appeared, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly confirms it is, actually, a fraudulent service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and client-friendly service, Starkalt.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Starkalt Scam Overview

Originally, Starkalt poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this platform is partnerships with 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 real, con actors employ deepfake videos with those celebs promote the fraud as if it was 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 blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Starkalt Scam

Initially, Starkalt repeats the layout of numerous similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Beastxly, Tradeplex or Ramidex. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these scam sites are led by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Starkalt Scam Works?

Starkalt is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical 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 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 popular social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Using bots and paid promotions (when achievable), fraud actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebrities that advertise 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 Starkalt in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain an incentive to register, enticed by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To increase the appeal of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the ads, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Starkalt”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Starkalt, “Start earning with Starkalt – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up 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 mentioned, scammers bait folks into signing up to get 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 claimed 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 having funds on your account. With Starkalt, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this site hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the capital 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 have no intentions to send you money. But to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the Starkalt.com they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal data, scammers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss 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 every check will share 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 Starkalt.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Starkalt 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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 scam, fraudsters may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we previously determined, these rascals have no plan of returning your money. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed it right – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly running harmful applications onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments attached to emails can act as a shell for different malware. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to lose and strive to maximize profits.

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