Investigating Veloriya: Legit or Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Veloriya.com website appeared, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that unmistakably indicates it is, in fact, a scam service.

Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Veloriya.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Veloriya Scam Overview

Originally, Veloriya poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, rascals use deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the fraud as if it was 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 vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Veloriya Scam

First and foremost, Veloriya shares the layout of numerous similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Korwex, Lednaf or Lonerax. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive sites are managed by a single gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Veloriya Scam Works?

Veloriya is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the same 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 initiate the fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Using bots and paid ads (when possible), fraud actors boost the presence of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users obtain an incentive to sign up, enticed by the assurance of receiving crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To augment the appeal of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the ads, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Veloriya”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Veloriya, “Start earning with Veloriya – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that getting the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious 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 sign up using your personal information, swindrels will not be able to 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, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is 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 promised bonus is not available to use right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what starts the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. With Veloriya, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash 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 website hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the issues start to surface. When comparing the real 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 money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that scoundrels have zero intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, 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 should go through before getting your grand back. And every check will reveal 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 Veloriya.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Veloriya often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Veloriya.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Veloriya raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Veloriya.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Veloriya preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Veloriya as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Veloriya 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 fraud, its actors may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto funds. As we previously determined, these deceivers have no plan of restoring your money. So, what do these email messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another component of the scam designed to entice you into willingly installing destructive software onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments attached to emails can serve as a shell for various malicious code. In this case, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of little concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to give up and strive to maximize gains.

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