We Looked Into Vartonex: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Vartonex.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably indicates it is, in fact, a deceptive platform.

Despite the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Vartonex.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Vartonex Scam Overview

Originally, Vartonex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is backing from celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. Obviously, 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.

Vartonex Scam

First and foremost, Vartonex copies the design of numerous similar pages. There are quite a few examples, like Shaxdex, Trezova or Xelunor. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these fraudulent sites are operated by the same group of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Vartonex Scam Works?

Vartonex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals 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 advanced 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 begin the fraud, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), fraud actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

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

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available to use right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, 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

Eventually, any cryptocurrency operations require you to have money on your account. In the case of Vartonex, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash 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 engaging on this site hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels have 0 intentions to give your money back. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Vartonex.com they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal data, 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 funds back. And each of these checks will share more and more info of yours, 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 Vartonex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Vartonex 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 Vartonex 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 Vartonex, 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 Vartonex is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Vartonex 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 get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we previously determined, these deceivers have no intention of restoring your capital. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing harmful programs onto your device.

Both extensions and files included to emails can act as a carrier for various malware. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to give up and aim to maximize gains.

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