We Investigated Wybidex: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Wybidex.com site popped up, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather reliable supporting information that unmistakably indicates it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, reliable, and client-friendly service, Wybidex.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your funds and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Wybidex Scam Overview

Originally, Wybidex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this site is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Vitalii Buterin (Ethereum creator), Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, 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.

Wybidex Scam

Initially, Wybidex copies the layout of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Vortexswift, Vefyx or Us. They are totally identical in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other particulars, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these scam sites are operated by a single group of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Wybidex Scam Works?

Wybidex is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use various 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 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 start the scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign commences. Using bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos 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.

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

Users obtain an incentive to register, enticed by the promise of obtaining crypto prizes valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To enhance the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the ads, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Wybidex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Wybidex, “Start earning with Wybidex – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that retrieving the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily proceed – especially since the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, rascals will not be able to earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just mentioned, deceivers bait folks into signing up for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers 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 at least cryptocurrency purchases on the platform with it, the user should 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

Obviously, any cryptocurrency operations require having capital on your account. With Wybidex, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority 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 participating on this site hoping to use all the deposited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

Needless to say that fraudsters are naught on intentions to give your money back. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Wybidex.com they are here exclusively 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 would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds 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 Wybidex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Wybidex 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. Wybidex.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. Wybidex 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. Wybidex.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%, Wybidex preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Wybidex as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Wybidex 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 fraud, rascals may get in touch with you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we already determined, these deceivers have no intention of giving back your funds. So, what can these email messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another side of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running destructive software onto your computer.

Both extensions and files included to emails can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always greater than zero. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their dignity is already deeply compromised. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize gains.

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