The Xcoinwex Scam – Don’t Become the Next Victim

Recently, Xcoinwex.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, in truth, a fraudulent service.

Regardless of the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Xcoinwex.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a gilded wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, backing from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

Xcoinwex Scam Overview

Originally, Xcoinwex poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service 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 claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ deepfake videos where those celebrities advertise the scam as if it was 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 an obvious scam.

Xcoinwex Scam

Initially, Xcoinwex repeats the appearance of numerous similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Vautes, Vadorno or Kubixbit. They are entirely identical in terms of visual elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Xcoinwex Scam Works?

Xcoinwex is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use various website designs, which still share the similar 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 complex 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 start the deceptive scheme, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Using bots and paid promotions (when possible), fraud actors intensify the exposure of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating clips with the aforementioned celebs 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 Xcoinwex in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users obtain an encouragement to enroll, enticed by the commitment of getting crypto prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all without cost. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are incorporated. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Xcoinwex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Xcoinwex, “Start earning with Xcoinwex – 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 since nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially since the bonus 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 info, 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 said, deceivers bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged 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 sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require having funds on your account. With Xcoinwex, users are also compelled to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the cash 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 participating on this website hoping to use all the deposited capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to retrieve 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 are naught on intentions to return your money. Though to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By requesting your personal info, scammers just stall hoping for you to accept the loss and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your funds back. And every check will reveal more and more information, 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 Xcoinwex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Xcoinwex employs fraudulent celebrity endorsements, often featuring names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. These false claims extend to fictitious partnerships with reputable entities like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite the absence of genuine connections.
• Implausible Earnings Claims. Promising remarkable returns of 50-100-200%, Xcoinwex exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Xcoinwex as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Xcoinwex arouses suspicion by providing inadequate documentation about ownership, location, and registration. Furthermore, the lack of legitimate contact information and the recent registration of domain and social media profiles deepen skepticism.
• Exclusive Cryptocurrency Payments. Xcoinwex.com solely accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, refraining from traditional bank transfers and other payment methods. This approach not only shrouds the company’s identity but also prevents the possibility of requesting refunds.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a Ponzi-like referral structure disseminated through social media. Nevertheless, only initial participants profit, often at the expense of funds brought in by subsequent members.
• Groundless Hype Tactics. Xcoinwex utilizes fabricated claims about non-existent events, such as securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. This manipulative strategy aims to foster belief in money returns and encourages individuals to top up their accounts again.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Xcoinwex 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 timeline of the fraud, its actors may reach out to you with particular files. Alternatively, they may offer you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto funds. As we already figured out, these scoundrels have no intention of returning your money. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? You guessed – this is another element of the scam designed to entice you into deliberately running harmful software onto your computer.

Both add-ons and attachments attached to email messages can serve as a shell for different malicious code. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always greater than zero. As stated, their ethics is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have no scruples to give up and strive to boost profits.

Frequently asked questions