Recently, Velumexar.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, actually, a deceptive site.
Despite what Velumexar site says, they won’t ever give back your funds. Despite the money displayed in the “member area”, there is zero way to retrieve even a penny. All promises regarding crypto rewards are baseless as well.
Velumexar Scam Overview
The key service that Velumexar attempts to provide is a secure and convenient crypto wallet service. The site promises exchange facilities, tools for controlling wallets, transfers, dashboards, and similar stuff. In reality, they endeavor to emulate the functionality of a crypto trading platform, akin to Binance or Coinbase. However, it in fact solely serves as a shell needed to fool the cautious.
To begin with, Velumexar imitates the appearance of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Gishbit, Ebitxs or Colibriex. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Most likely, all these deceptive sites are operated by the same group of scoundrels.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Velumexar.com |
| Hosting | AS42745 Safe Value Limited Russia, Moscow |
| IP Address | 193.233.15.41 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Velumexar Scam Works?
Velumexar is yet another website within a wide-ranging network of associated crypto fraudulent webpages. The operators utilize different brand names and websites, like Velumexar.com, to trap victims. However, these false websites possess identical website designs, terms of service, and About information. This reveals their origins as components of the same fraudulent network, which advocates the identical type of deception under different disguises. The fraudsters just copy the identical scam website under diverse names to mislead users into thinking they are participating in a fresh platform. However, in reality, it’s the identical system of fraudsters orchestrating the fraudulent pledges and attempts to grab deposited money. The managers skillfully make use of psychological maneuvers and captivating invitations to carry out their unscrupulous plans.
Step 1: Spreading
To initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Employing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), fraud actors boost the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. This tactic allows them to create an extensive net and connect with their aimed viewers. The latter usually consists of cryptocurrency enthusiastic individuals searching for prospects to generate profits.
Users receive an incentive to sign up, enticed by the assurance of receiving crypto rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
Individuals who demonstrate interest visit Velumexar.com via links featured in advertisements or robotic posts. The webpage uses captivating visuals, design elements that appear authentic, and assertions of holding a valid license, all intended to present an initial impression of trustworthiness.
Step 3: Data Gathering
To claim their prizes, users are required to actively create an account on Velumexar and get prompts to provide sensitive and private information during the registration process. This comprises linking their cryptocurrency wallets, sharing email addresses, specifying phone numbers, sending in identification documents, and the like.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Once enrolled, users notice significant amounts of cryptocurrency, valued at thousands of dollars, within their Velumexar wallets. However, as it usually happens with such rewards, you cannot withdraw them before topping up your account. Usually, a funds transfer of $100 is asked to withdraw the sign-up bonus. This stipulation serves as the enticement that ultimately results to the money loss.
Step 5: Disappear
Signs of Scam
I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Velumexar.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Absent company details. Velumexar 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 Velumexar 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 Velumexar, 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 Velumexar is a definite scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Velumexar 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 course of the fraud, its masters may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we earlier determined, these scoundrels have no intent of restoring your money. So, what can these emails and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another component of the scam designed to throw you into deliberately installing malicious applications onto your computer.
Both add-ons and attachments added to email messages can function as a carrier for various malicious code. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As stated, their conscience is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to lose and strive to boost profits.
Frequently asked questions
- Contact your bank or card provider and ask about chargeback options.
- Save screenshots, receipts, tracking numbers, and emails as evidence.
- Change reused passwords and enable two-factor authentication on important accounts.
- Watch for follow-up phishing emails pretending to offer refunds or delivery updates.
