We Investigated Votelya: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Votelya.com service appeared, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably indicates it is, in truth, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, dependable, and client-friendly service, Votelya.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Votelya Scam Overview

Originally, Votelya poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in 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, frauds employ deepfake videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a glaring wrap around an obvious scam.

Votelya Scam

To begin with, Votelya copies the appearance of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Vomae, Turdix or Teslmusk. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive websites are managed by a single team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Votelya Scam Works?

Votelya is a part of a significant cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the similar 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 begin the scam, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), fraud actors intensify the visibility of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users get an encouragement to register, enticed by the assurance of receiving crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the appeal of the offer, fake claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Votelya”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Votelya, “Start earning with Votelya – they look rather reliable. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable 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 information, crooks 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, scammers bait folks into signing up to get bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the claimed bonus 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 stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any crypto operations require having capital on your account. With Votelya, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the real crypto wallet vs what the site 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for your personal data, scammers 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 grand back. And every check will uncover 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 Votelya.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Votelya.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. Votelya 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. Votelya 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. Votelya 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%, Votelya capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Votelya.com as a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Votelya 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 scam, its actors may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto savings. As we already determined, these scammers have no intent of returning your funds. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running destructive software onto your device.

Both extensions and files added to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malware. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As noted, their ethics is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to lose and strive to boost revenues.

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