Recently, Twinbit.one website surfaced, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a fraudulent site.
Regardless of the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Twinbit.one does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.
Twinbit Scam Overview
Originally, Twinbit poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site 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 more realistic, con actors use deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as the best thing in the world. For known 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 a transparent scam.
Twinbit Scam
To begin with, Twinbit repeats the appearance of many similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Immediate, Setokit or Coinsguru. They are entirely identical in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these fraudulent websites are operated by a single group of fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Twinbit.one |
| Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
| IP Address | 104.21.45.43 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Twinbit Scam Works?
Twinbit is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.
Step 1: Promotion
To start the scam, 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 paid promotions (when feasible), scam actors boost the exposure of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.
Promotions of cryptoscams like Twinbit in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
After following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Twinbit”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Twinbit, “Start earning with Twinbit – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially since the reward appears to be right behind the corner.
At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, crooks 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, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.
As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal 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 initiates the final step of the scam.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Obviously, any crypto operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Twinbit, users are also coerced to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.
This is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on 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 scoundrels are naught on intentions to give your money back. Though to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Twinbit.one they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.
By asking for your personal info, 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 money back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Twinbit.one. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Unsubstantiated Credibility. Twinbit 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%, Twinbit exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Twinbit as a scam.
- Dubious Corporate Information. Twinbit 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. Twinbit.one 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. Twinbit 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 Twinbit 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.
- Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
- Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
- Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
- Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
- Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.
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 fraud, its masters may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already figured out, these scammers have no intent of restoring your money. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – this is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly running harmful software onto your system.
Both extensions and files attached to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As noted, their morality is of little concern, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize revenues.
