The Stifex Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Stifex.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably reveals it is, in truth, a deceptive site.

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

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Stifex Scam Overview

Originally, Stifex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this site 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, frauds employ deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Stifex Scam

First and foremost, Stifex repeats the appearance of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Zauwtous, Xlsnetwork or Saywes. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Stifex Scam Works?

Stifex is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the similar 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 advanced psychological tricks that make the user believe in the legitimacy 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 mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored promotions (when achievable), scam actors increase the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users receive a stimulus to enroll, enticed by the assurance of obtaining crypto benefits valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the attractiveness 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 following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Stifex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Stifex, “Start earning with Stifex – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that retrieving the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the bonus 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 data, rascals will not be able to earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, deceivers bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require having money on your account. In the case of Stifex, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. 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 is where the victim notices the issues. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters are naught on intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but for the Stifex.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will share more and more info of yours, 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 Stifex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Stifex 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, its masters may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we previously figured out, these deceivers have no plan of returning your funds. So, what do these email messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately running malicious software onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments included to emails can act as a carrier for various malware. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to lose and strive to boost gains.

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