We Investigated Waflub: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Waflub.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place where you can securely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, in fact, a scam site.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and customer-centric service, Waflub.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your money and never gives them back. Any tales about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Waflub Scam Overview

Originally, Waflub poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this site is backing from celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, con actors use AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fraud as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common choise for that. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Waflub Scam

To begin with, Waflub copies the design of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Bitxmust, Yembit or Xteslon. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Presumably, all these deceptive sites are led by a single gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Waflub Scam Works?

Waflub is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous 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 advanced 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 mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), scam actors intensify the presence of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks 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, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Waflub”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Waflub, “Start earning with Waflub – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious 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 skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, frauds 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 said, deceivers bait folks into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the alleged 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have money on your account. With Waflub, users are also forced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money 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 trading on this website hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When comparing the actual crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can notice 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

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels have zero intentions to return your money. Though to make the denial look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but for the Waflub.com they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal data, deceivers 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your grand back. And every check will reveal more and more information, which – you guessed it right – will be then marketed 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 Waflub.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Waflub often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Waflub.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Waflub raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Waflub.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Waflub preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Waflub as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Waflub 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, fraudsters may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we previously figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of restoring your funds. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – that is another component of the scam designed to entice you into deliberately installing malicious programs onto your computer.

Both add-ons and files attached to email messages can serve as a carrier for various malicious code. In this scenario, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to lose and intend to boost profits.

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