We Investigated Usd-pro: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Usd-pro.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly reveals it is, actually, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, reliable, and client-friendly service, Usd-pro.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Usd-pro Scam Overview

Originally, Usd-pro poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another bright selling point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known in 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 AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fraud as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

Usd-pro Scam

To begin with, Usd-pro copies the appearance of multiple equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Trustmev, Trustdew or Telonax. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Probably, all these deceptive websites are operated by a single gang of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Usd-pro Scam Works?

Usd-pro is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 sophisticated 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 initiate the fraud, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Employing bots and paid ads (when achievable), scam actors increase the visibility of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Usd-pro”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Usd-pro, “Start earning with Usd-pro – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially since the gift 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 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the claimed bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, you need to 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 operations require you to have capital on your account. With Usd-pro, 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 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 capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but for the Usd-pro.com they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, deceivers 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 each of these checks will share more and more information, 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 Usd-pro.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Usd-pro 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%, Usd-pro exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Usd-pro as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Usd-pro 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. Usd-pro.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. Usd-pro 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 Usd-pro 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 timeline of the scam, scoundrels may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we already determined, these rascals have no intent of giving back your capital. So, what can these messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly running malicious applications onto your system.

Both extensions and files attached to emails can serve as a carrier for different malicious software. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always significant. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to give up and intend to maximize gains.

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