Tertox Review: Legit or Scam? Read This First

Recently, Tertox.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly indicates it is, in fact, a fraudulent site.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Tertox.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Tertox Scam Overview

Originally, Tertox poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors use 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 mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Tertox Scam

To begin with, Tertox shares the layout of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Swapex, Staxdex or Prizmacoin. They are completely identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these fraudulent sites are managed by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Tertox Scam Works?

Tertox is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar 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 scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities 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 Tertox in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an encouragement to sign up, enticed by the commitment of receiving crypto rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To enhance the appeal of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the ads, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Tertox”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Tertox, “Start earning with Tertox – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily proceed – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely 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, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have funds on your account. With Tertox, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the credited money and withdraw them.

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

There’s no need to explain that swindlers are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal info, scammers 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 funds back. And each of these checks will share 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 Tertox.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Tertox 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, rascals may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what can these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running malicious programs onto your device.

Both add-ons and files attached to emails can function as a shell for diverse malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to lose and aim to boost revenues.

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