Investigating VepDEX: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Vepdex.com service popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a scam service.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Vepdex.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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VepDEX Scam Overview

Originally, VepDEX poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this service is partnerships with 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, rascals use deepfake videos where those celebrities promote the scam 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.

VepDEX Scam

Initially, VepDEX copies the layout of multiple similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Xelenax, Tradestar or Peakgainsintl. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Probably, all these deceptive online platforms are led by the same team of swindrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the VepDEX Scam Works?

VepDEX is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the identical 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 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 scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when possible), scam actors intensify the visibility of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities 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 VepDEX in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain a stimulus to enroll, drawn by the assurance of getting cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promotions, targets end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with VepDEX”, “Your crypto savings are secured with VepDEX, “Start earning with VepDEX – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, unexperienced users happily proceed – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, 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, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks 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 at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. At this point, the final stage of the scam begins.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have capital on your account. In the case of VepDEX, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When comparing the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the funds 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 are naught on intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal info, scammers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your money back. And each of these checks will reveal 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 Vepdex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Vepdex.com insists on cryptocurrency payments exclusively, excluding conventional methods like bank transfers. This strategy ensures anonymity for the scam and eliminates any possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Credentials. VepDEX arouses suspicion by failing to provide critical information about ownership, location, and legal registration. The lack of valid contact details and the recent creation of domain and social media profiles cast doubt on its legitimacy.
• Baseless Hype Generation. VepDEX resorts to fabricating non-existent achievements, such as contracts with Coinbase or endorsements from Elon Musk, to manipulate emotions and enhance the perception of potential returns, enticing victims to invest more.
• Fictitious Celebrity Association. VepDEX employs a deceptive tactic by falsely associating itself with well-known figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the scam falsely claims partnerships with established entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to bolster its false credibility.
• Potential Ponzi-Like Model. The scam operates on a pyramid-style referral system disseminated through social media, benefiting only initial participants and relying on later investments to sustain the illusion.
• Unrealistic Profit Promises. Promising improbable returns of 50-100-200%, VepDEX capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Vepdex.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with VepDEX 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 the scam to authorities. Search for local authorities responsible for financial frauds, and also notify wallet providers and social networks via their tech support. It is essential to make the further operations of these scammers much harder.
• Tell your close friends. That step is similar to reporting to the authorities, and has similar effects. By posting info about scam crypto service, you decrease the pool of people they can fool.
• Get evidence. Screenshot or save all the information related to the website. URL, screenshot of a main page, login window, EULA, account top-up menu, wallet addresses – all these things may be useful for authorities to find the scammers.
• Check whether you can ask for a refund. As I’ve said above, crypto payments do not fall under refund policies in most banks. Nonetheless, in some circumstances, it is still possible. Never lose hope until you actually confirm it is gone.
• Make your mistake your lesson. Financial losses are always a reason for frustration, but let’s imagine it was a pay for scam revealing courses. Remember the key features of these crypto scam sites, the way they attract people and what they promise. In the future, you will easily recognize a trap of spending no money.

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 masters may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we previously figured out, these scammers have no intention of returning your capital. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your system.

Both add-ons and attachments attached to email messages can act as a shell for various malware. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to lose and aim to boost profits.

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