We Investigated Venlumix: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Venlumix.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive site.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Venlumix.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never gives them back. Any stories about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Venlumix Scam Overview

Originally, Venlumix poses as a cryptocurrency 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 says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Venlumix Scam

To begin with, Venlumix copies the appearance of many similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Lenzela, Volenix or Mevonix. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Presumably, all these fraudulent websites are operated by a single team of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Venlumix Scam Works?

Venlumix is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another common 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 legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign begins. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when possible), scam actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the mentioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Users receive a stimulus to enroll, drawn by the promise of getting cryptocurrency rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the ads, victims end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Venlumix”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Venlumix, “Start earning with Venlumix – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that obtaining the promoted bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, frauds will not 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 said, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto purchases require you to have money on your account. With Venlumix, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam site. 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 transferred capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can observe 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 send you money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal info, frauds just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will uncover 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 Venlumix.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Venlumix 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%, Venlumix exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Venlumix as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Venlumix 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. Venlumix.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. Venlumix 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 Venlumix 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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 specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scammers have no plan of returning your capital. So, what do these email messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – this is another element of the scam designed to entice you into willingly running destructive programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments added to email messages can function as a shell for various malware. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always existent. As stated, their morality is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and intend to boost gains.

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