We Investigated Tradelly: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Tradelly.fi site appeared, promoting itself as a place where you can safely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a fraudulent service.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Tradelly.fi does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Tradelly Scam Overview

Originally, Tradelly poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Tradelly Scam

To begin with, Tradelly repeats the appearance of many similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Menwex, Lorkex or Locenax. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive online platforms are managed by a single team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Tradelly Scam Works?

Tradelly is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical 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 initiate the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored promotions (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the presence of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise 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 Tradelly in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users receive an incentive to sign up, enticed by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency rewards valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Tradelly”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Tradelly, “Start earning with Tradelly – 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 suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – especially since the reward 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 info, rascals will not 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, frauds bait folks into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the promised bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, 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 having capital on your account. With Tradelly, users are also coerced to top up to get 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 promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve the funds 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 the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what KYC requirements say, but for the Tradelly.fi they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, frauds 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 each of these checks will reveal more and more info of yours, 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 Tradelly.fi. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Tradelly 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 the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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 timeline of the scam, fraudsters may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we earlier determined, these scammers have no intention of returning your money. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful software onto your system.

Both plugins and files attached to email messages can act as a shell for diverse malicious software. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always above zero. As stated, their morality is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to lose and intend to boost profits.

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