We Investigated Swapxtrade: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Swapxtrade.com website popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Swapxtrade.com does not offer 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 non-existent as well.

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Swapxtrade Scam Overview

Originally, Swapxtrade poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, frauds use deepfake videos where those celebrities promote the fraud as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, 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.

Swapxtrade Scam

Initially, Swapxtrade repeats the layout of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Bitxnix, Bitexline or Flow. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these fraudulent sites are led by the same group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Swapxtrade Scam Works?

Swapxtrade is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Employing bots and paid ads (when achievable), scam actors boost the exposure of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users obtain a stimulus to register, attracted by the promise of getting crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the ads, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Swapxtrade”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Swapxtrade, “Start earning with Swapxtrade – they look rather credible. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially as 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 sign up using your personal data, swindrels 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 into signing up to get bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available for withdrawal 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

Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have capital on your account. With Swapxtrade, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can spot 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels have 0 intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, frauds just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will reveal more and more information, 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 Swapxtrade.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Swapxtrade 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%, Swapxtrade exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Swapxtrade as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Swapxtrade 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. Swapxtrade.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. Swapxtrade 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 Swapxtrade 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 course of the scam, rascals may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we previously determined, these scammers have no intention of returning your funds. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately installing malicious software onto your system.

Both plugins and attachments included to email messages can act as a carrier for various malicious code. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As stated, their morality is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to lose and intend to maximize gains.

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