Recently, Woxgex.com website surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can securely keep cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that clearly indicates it is, actually, a fraudulent site.
Despite the promises of the most user-friendly, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Woxgex.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are absent as well.
Woxgex Scam Overview
Originally, Woxgex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known in 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 with those celebs promote the fake crypto service as if it was the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.
To begin with, Woxgex copies the layout of many similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Zayinvest, Zeltonix or Zeseray. They are totally indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with small discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these scam sites are operated by a single group of swindrels.
Cryptocurrency Scam Summary
Website | Woxgex.com |
Hosting | AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. United States, San Francisco |
IP Address | 104.21.73.224 |
Threat Type | Scam/Fraud |
Scam Type | Fraudulent offers of cryptocurrency services |
How the Woxgex Scam Works?
Woxgex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use several website designs, which still share the same 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 complex 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 fraud, criminals create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Utilizing bots and sponsored promotions (when feasible), scam actors boost the presence of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.
Users get an encouragement to enroll, drawn by the commitment of getting cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.
Step 2: Gaining Traffic
After following the ads, targets end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Woxgex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Woxgex, “Start earning with Woxgex – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that obtaining the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing questionable happens at this point, uninformed users happily keep on – 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 info, 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 said, scammers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.
As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available to use right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what starts the final stage of the scam.
Step 4: Requesting funds
Eventually, any crypto operations require you to have capital on your account. With Woxgex, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money 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 trading on this site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.
This, however, is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on 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 withdraw the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.
Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal
There’s no need to explain that swindlers have zero intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Most of them repeat what KYC regulations say, but in this case they are here exclusively to make the wireout impossible.
By asking for your personal info, scammers 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 grand back. And each of these checks will share more and more info of yours, 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 Woxgex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.
- Absent company details. Woxgex 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 Woxgex 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 Woxgex, 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 Woxgex is a definite scam.
What Should I do as a Victim?
If you had to deal with Woxgex 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 fraud, scoundrels may contact you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we already determined, these scammers have no intention of restoring your funds. So, what do these email messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another component of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful applications onto your system.
Both extensions and attachments attached to email messages can function as a carrier for diverse malicious software. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As previously mentioned, their ethics is of no concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to lose and strive to boost revenues.
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Frequently asked questions
The vast majority of information posted on the Woxgex 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 Woxgex 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 Woxgex 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:
- Verify Regulation and Licensing. Before proceeding, ensure that the platform or service is regulated and possesses the necessary licenses from relevant authorities. Scammers often operate without proper authorization.
- Resist Urgency. Be cautious of tactics that create a false sense of urgency to pressure you into quick decisions. Legitimate investments provide ample time for research and consideration.
- Consult Reviews and Feedback. Seek independent reviews and feedback from other traders. While positive reviews can be fabricated, negative reviews often reveal valuable insights.
- Question Unrealistic Promises. Approach offers with unrealistically high returns or guaranteed profits skeptically. If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Scrutinize Celebrity Endorsements. Exercise skepticism when faced with endorsements from celebrities or public figures. Scammers frequently create fake endorsements to enhance credibility.
If you have become a victim of a Woxgex 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:
- Cease Communication. If you realize that you’ve been scammed, stop all communication with the scammers. Do not respond to their emails, messages, or calls.
- Document Everything. Gather and preserve all relevant information, including emails, screenshots, transaction records, and any communication you had with the scammers. This documentation will be crucial for reporting the scam and seeking assistance.
- Report to Authorities. File a report with your local law enforcement agency and any relevant regulatory authorities in your country. Provide them with all the evidence you have gathered. This helps initiate investigations and raises awareness about the scam.
- Contact Financial Institutions. If you made any payments or deposits using your credit card or bank account, contact your financial institution immediately. They may be able to help you with disputing transactions or initiating a chargeback.
- 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.
- Notify Cryptocurrency Exchanges. If you used a cryptocurrency exchange to make transactions related to the scam, notify the exchange about the fraudulent activity. They may be able to assist you in some cases.
- Monitor Your Accounts. Keep a close eye on your financial and online accounts for any suspicious activity. Change passwords and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.