We Looked Into Vulenix: Scam or Trustworthy? The Verdict

Recently, Vulenix.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent platform.

Despite the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Vulenix.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never returns them. 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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Vulenix Scam Overview

Originally, Vulenix 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 in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, rascals use AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a blatant wrap around an obvious scam.

Vulenix Scam

To begin with, Vulenix copies the appearance of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Bitenyx, Blackrockfund or Loyal. They are totally identical in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive websites are led by a single team of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Vulenix Scam Works?

Vulenix 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 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 authenticity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To initiate the scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), fraud actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users receive an incentive to enroll, enticed by the assurance of obtaining cryptocurrency benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Vulenix”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Vulenix, “Start earning with Vulenix – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily move on – especially since the reward 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 register using your personal data, crooks will not earn even a nickel from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, deceivers bait folks into signing up to get bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, 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 cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have funds on your account. With Vulenix, users are also coerced 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 pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the transferred funds and withdraw them.

This is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to withdraw the money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that swindlers are naught on intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal information, scammers 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 funds back. And each of these checks will reveal more and more info of yours, 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 Vulenix.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Vulenix 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 duration of the scam, rascals may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your crypto assets. As we previously determined, these deceivers have no intent of giving back your capital. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and attachments added to emails can serve as a carrier for various malicious code. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their morality is of negligible importance, and their dignity is already seriously marred. They have no principles to give up and strive to boost profits.

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