Recently, Websterbit.com service popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably confirms it is, actually, a scam site.
Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and client-friendly service, Websterbit.com does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.
Websterbit Scam Overview
Originally, Websterbit poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with remarkably low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look real, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the fraud as the best thing in the world. Obviously, 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.
Initially, Websterbit copies the appearance of many equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Unibwex, Texnum or Sweetex. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the site header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are identical. Probably, all these deceptive websites are led by the same team of fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
Website | Websterbit.com |
Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
IP Address | 104.21.14.6 |
Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Websterbit Scam Works?
Websterbit is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another mutual 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 validity 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 mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Utilizing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities that promote their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.
Users receive an encouragement to enroll, attracted by the promise of getting crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the appeal of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
After following the promos, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Websterbit”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Websterbit, “Start earning with Websterbit – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – especially as the bonus 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 register using your personal information, frauds will not be able to 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, frauds bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this data 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 promised bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.
Step 4: Requesting funds
It is obvious that any crypto purchases require having money on your account. In the case of Websterbit, users are also compelled to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam site. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this website hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.
This is where the victim notices the issues. 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 withdraw the capital 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 return your money. Though to make it look more legitimate, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.
By asking for your personal info, 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 should go through before getting your funds back. And every check 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 Websterbit.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Absent company details. Websterbit does not provide any documentation about its ownership, location or registration. No legitimate contact details are given either. Moreover, it appears that the domain and all social network pages were registered quite recently.
- Fake sponsorship from a celebrity. Scams like Websterbit like to pick a celebrity as a sponsor of this entire campaign. For obvious reasons, fraudsters generally choose Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, Mark Zuckerberg, and similar celebrities. They do not disdain claiming partnership with a company as well. Even though Coinbase, Binance or MetaMask never heard of Websterbit, they do not care – this creates a halo of credibility.
- Potential Ponzi Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral system to spread reach through social media. In fact, only the first members will receive the payoff, at the cost of the money brought by other members.
- Hype without facts. Frauds can cheer up their victims from time to time, using claims about non-existent events. “We got contracts with Coinbase”, “Elon Musk mentioned us as the most prolific crypto project” – you could likely hear something like that. This is made to make people believe in their money return. This can be the sauce to make people top-up their accounts once again.
- Crypto-only incoming payments. Whether the user tries to top-up the account, hackers will only accept payments in crypto – no bank transfers or other payment methods. Such an approach completely hides the identity of the company and deprives you of the ability to ask for a refund.
- Claims are too good to be true. Let’s be sane and sober: even in crypto space, there are not many places where you can earn 50-100-200%. Being able to participate in all of them is nearly impossible, as well as it is impossible to insure or hedge all the risks. Even by that reason alone I can tell that the Websterbit is a definite scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Websterbit 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 duration of the scam, its actors may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto savings. As we already determined, these deceivers have no plan of restoring your money. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another component of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into deliberately running destructive applications onto your device.
Both add-ons and files added to emails can serve as a shell for diverse malicious code. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As previously mentioned, their morality is of little concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to lose and intend to maximize revenues.
Remove spyware with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware
We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common malicious programs as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove spyware as well as other malware hiding on your computer.
To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:
1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.
2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.
3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.
4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.
Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.
5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.
6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.
8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.
Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.
Frequently asked questions
The vast majority of information posted on the Websterbit site is false. It is either fabricated, or a manipulation that misses the context of mentioned events. However, things like quotes or other interactive elements related to current prices may be trustworthy. But I would rather avoid using them as a primary source of information.
No, there is no legitimate information on the Websterbit site. The operators of this site use fabricated details and deceptive tactics to create an appearance of credibility, such as appealing visuals and claims of being a licensed company. However, these claims are false, and the site is part of a larger network of interconnected crypto scam sites designed to defraud victims. The scammers manipulate users into providing sensitive personal information and making deposits, ultimately leading to the loss of funds.
Unfortunately, recovering funds lost to a scam like Websterbit can be extremely challenging, if not impossible. Scammers often operate from obscure locations and use various tactics to cover their tracks, making it difficult to trace or retrieve the stolen funds. In many cases, these scams are designed to exploit victims and disappear once they have obtained the money.
Spotting crypto trading scams requires vigilance and a critical eye. Here are some tips to help you identify potential crypto trading scams in the future:
- Question Unrealistic Promises. Approach offers that promise unrealistically high returns or guaranteed profits with caution. If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Scrutinize Celebrity Endorsements. Exercise skepticism when encountering endorsements from celebrities or public figures. Scammers often create fabricated endorsements to enhance their credibility.
- Verify Regulation and Licensing. Investigate whether the platform or service holds proper regulation and licenses from relevant authorities. Scammers frequently operate without legitimate authorization.
- Consult Reviews and Feedback. Seek out independent reviews and feedback from other traders. Positive reviews can be falsified, but negative reviews may offer valuable insights.
- Resist Urgency. Be wary of tactics that use a false sense of urgency to rush your decisions. Legitimate investments provide the necessary time for thorough research and contemplation.
If you have become a victim of a Websterbit or similar crypto trading scam, it’s important to take immediate action to minimize further damage and increase the chances of recovering your losses. Here’s what you should do:
- Notify Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Should you have employed a cryptocurrency exchange for transactions linked to the scam, inform the exchange about the fraudulent activity. In certain cases, they could extend their assistance.
- Contact Financial Institutions. If you conducted any payments or deposits through your credit card or bank account, promptly notify your financial institution. They might offer assistance in contesting transactions or initiating chargebacks.
- Thoroughly Document. Gather and safeguard all pertinent information, including emails, screenshots, transaction records, and any correspondence with the scammers. This documentation holds utmost importance for reporting the scam and seeking assistance.
- Immediately Halt Communication. Once you recognize that you have fallen victim to a scam, cease all communication with the scammers. Refrain from responding to their emails, messages, or phone calls.
- Seek Legal Advice. Consult with a legal professional who specializes in fraud or financial matters. They can provide advice on potential legal actions you can take to recover your funds.
- Consult Legal Counsel. Seek counsel from a legal expert specialized in fraud or financial matters. They can provide guidance on potential legal avenues for recovering your funds.
- Inform the Authorities. Lodge an official report with your local law enforcement agency and relevant regulatory bodies within your country. Present them with the amassed evidence. This step instigates investigations and enhances awareness about the scam.