Investigating Upxcar: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Upxcar.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Upxcar.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Upxcar Scam Overview

Originally, Upxcar poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look more realistic, frauds employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service 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 vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Upxcar Scam

Initially, Upxcar repeats the design of multiple similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Coenux, Beastwex or Tyknex. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these scam websites are led by a single team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Upxcar Scam Works?

Upxcar is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical 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 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 start the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Employing bots and paid promotions (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the mentioned 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 Upxcar in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain a stimulus to enroll, drawn by the assurance of receiving cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To augment the appeal of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the ads, users end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Upxcar”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Upxcar, “Start earning with Upxcar – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, crooks say that claiming the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially as the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, swindrels will not 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 mentioned, frauds bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto purchases require you to have money on your account. With Upxcar, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And this 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 trading on this site hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. 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 funds from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have no intentions to give your money back. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And every check will uncover more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then marketed 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 Upxcar.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Upxcar 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%, Upxcar exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Upxcar as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Upxcar 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. Upxcar.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. Upxcar 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 Upxcar 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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 timeline of the scam, its actors may get in touch with you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto funds. As we already determined, these deceivers have no plan of returning your money. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another component of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately installing destructive software onto your computer.

Both add-ons and attachments attached to email messages can function as a shell for diverse malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As stated, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to lose and strive to boost gains.

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