Investigating Xelonnex: Legit or Scam? The Truth Revealed

Recently, Xelonnex.com website popped up, promoting itself as a platform to store cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible evidence that clearly confirms it is, actually, a deceptive platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, dependable, and customer-centric service, Xelonnex.com 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 stories about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Xelonnex Scam Overview

Originally, Xelonnex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another highlighted marketing point for this service is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vitalii Buterin, Warren Buffet – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities promote the scam as the best thing in the world. Obviously, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a vivid wrap around a transparent scam.

Xelonnex Scam

Initially, Xelonnex repeats the appearance of numerous equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Fatbon, Paybeast or Lokesi. They are completely identical in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Probably, all these scam websites are led by a single group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Xelonnex Scam Works?

Xelonnex is a part of a large 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 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 begin the scam, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Employing bots and paid promotions (when possible), fraud actors increase the presence of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, scammers do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon following the ads, targets end up on a page filled with appealing offers. “Crypto starts with Xelonnex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Xelonnex, “Start earning with Xelonnex – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that obtaining the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially since the gift appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to steer away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal information, frauds will not be able to earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is the starting poing of the main fraud action. As I just mentioned, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely 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 promised 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. At this point, the final stage of the scam kicks in.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Eventually, any crypto operations require having money on your account. In the case of Xelonnex, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority of the money flow to this scam website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this website hoping to use all the deposited money and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual 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 money from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that scoundrels have no intentions to return your money. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client requirements say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal 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 a dozen other checks you would desperately need to undergo before getting your funds back. And every check will reveal more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded 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 Xelonnex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Xelonnex 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, scoundrels may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency savings. As we previously determined, these scammers have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what can these messages and browser add-ons represent? You guessed – that is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately installing harmful software onto your computer.

Both add-ons and files attached to emails can function as a carrier for diverse malware. In this situation, I anticipate the presence of spyware and stealers among other kinds of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As previously mentioned, their morality is of little concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to lose and aim to maximize revenues.

Frequently asked questions