Recently, Wincoin.trade service popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable proof that unmistakably confirms it is, actually, a fraudulent platform.
Regardless of the promises of the most easy, trustworthy, and customer-centric service, Wincoin.trade does not follow any of them. All this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.
Wincoin Scam Overview
Originally, Wincoin poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another highlighted selling point for this service is backing from 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, con actors employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, 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.
Wincoin Scam
Initially, Wincoin copies the design of many equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Wytex, Wolurax or Zigobit. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Probably, all these deceptive sites are led by a single team of frauds.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
| Website | Wincoin.trade |
| Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
| IP Address | 104.21.19.73 |
| Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
| Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Wincoin Scam Works?
Wincoin is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers 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 set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Using bots and sponsored promotions (when achievable), scam actors increase the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.
Promotions of cryptoscams like Wincoin in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
Upon clicking the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Wincoin”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Wincoin, “Start earning with Wincoin – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that getting the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – 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 sign up using your personal data, frauds will not 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, frauds bait folks into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.
As it turns out, you cannot use the alleged bonus right away. To make it at least usable for crypto purchases, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.
Step 4: Requesting funds
It is obvious that any crypto purchases require you to have funds on your account. With Wincoin, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent 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 money and withdraw them.
This, however, is where the victim notices the problems. When keeping an eye on the actual 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 funds 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 send you money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Wincoin.trade they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.
By asking for your personal info, deceivers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are multiple other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And every check will uncover 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 Wincoin.trade. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions. Wincoin.trade 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. Wincoin 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. Wincoin 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. Wincoin 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%, Wincoin capitalizes on the desire for high profits. However, the tumultuous nature of the cryptocurrency market renders such gains implausible, solidifying Wincoin.trade as a definite scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Wincoin 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 course of the scam, scoundrels may contact you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto funds. As we already determined, these scoundrels have no intent of returning your capital. So, what do these emails and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to throw you into willingly installing harmful programs onto your system.
Both add-ons and attachments added to email messages can act as a shell for various malware. In this scenario, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of threats. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always significant. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of no concern, and their dignity is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to lose and intend to maximize gains.
