We Looked at the Evidence: Is Trustwex Legit or Scam?

Recently, Trustwex.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, in truth, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and customer-centric service, Trustwex.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Trustwex Scam Overview

Originally, Trustwex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, con actors use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fraud as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, 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.

Trustwex Scam

To begin with, Trustwex copies the design of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Anloko, Xemonex or Waretoken. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these scam online platforms are operated by the same team of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Trustwex Scam Works?

Trustwex is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another mutual 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 complex 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 scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors increase the presence of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users get a stimulus to sign up, drawn by the assurance of getting crypto benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the appeal of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Trustwex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Trustwex, “Start earning with Trustwex – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that obtaining the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, swindrels will not be able to earn even a nickel 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 into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely 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 for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require having funds on your account. In the case of Trustwex, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 trading on this website hoping to use all the deposited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that fraudsters are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole pack 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 wireout 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 a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your money back. And every check 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 Trustwex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Trustwex 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 duration of the scam, its masters may get in touch with you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we previously determined, these rascals have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what can these emails and browser plugins represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly running malicious software onto your system.

Both plugins and files added to emails can function as a shell for diverse malware. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As noted, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have no scruples to give up and intend to boost revenues.

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