The Usdtbao Scam – What You Need To Know

Recently, Usdtbao.com service popped up, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly indicates it is, actually, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Usdtbao.com does not fulfill any of them. In fact, all this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your funds and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Usdtbao Scam Overview

Originally, Usdtbao poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, frauds use AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fake crypto service 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 glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

Usdtbao Scam

To begin with, Usdtbao repeats the appearance of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Vtmarketspro, Nelutex or Remolex. They are entirely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are managed by a single team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Usdtbao Scam Works?

Usdtbao 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 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored advertisements (when possible), fraud actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos 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 registers the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Usdtbao”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Usdtbao, “Start earning with Usdtbao – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that obtaining the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily move on – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal information, 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 into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have money on your account. With Usdtbao, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most 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 participating on this site hoping to use all the transferred money and withdraw them.

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

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have 0 intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Usdtbao.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, deceivers 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 funds back. And each of these checks will share 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 Usdtbao.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Usdtbao does not provide any documentation about its ownership, location or registration. No legitimate contact details are given either. Moreover, it appears that the domain and all social network pages were registered quite recently.
• Fake sponsorship from a celebrity. Scams like Usdtbao like to pick a celebrity as a sponsor of this entire campaign. For obvious reasons, fraudsters generally choose Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, Mark Zuckerberg, and similar celebrities. They do not disdain claiming partnership with a company as well. Even though Coinbase, Binance or MetaMask never heard of Usdtbao, they do not care – this creates a halo of credibility.
• Potential Ponzi Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral system to spread reach through social media. In fact, only the first members will receive the payoff, at the cost of the money brought by other members.
• Hype without facts. Frauds can cheer up their victims from time to time, using claims about non-existent events. “We got contracts with Coinbase”, “Elon Musk mentioned us as the most prolific crypto project” – you could likely hear something like that. This is made to make people believe in their money return. This can be the sauce to make people top-up their accounts once again.
• Crypto-only incoming payments. Whether the user tries to top-up the account, hackers will only accept payments in crypto – no bank transfers or other payment methods. Such an approach completely hides the identity of the company and deprives you of the ability to ask for a refund.
• Claims are too good to be true. Let’s be sane and sober: even in crypto space, there are not many places where you can earn 50-100-200%. Being able to participate in all of them is nearly impossible, as well as it is impossible to insure or hedge all the risks. Even by that reason alone I can tell that the Usdtbao is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Usdtbao 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 duration of the scam, its actors may reach out to you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scoundrels have no intent of returning your capital. So, what can these email messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another element of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful software onto your system.

Both add-ons and attachments included to emails can function as a carrier for various malicious code. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have nothing to lose and strive to boost revenues.

Frequently asked questions