We Investigated Xelup: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Xelup.pro site appeared, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that clearly confirms it is, in truth, a deceptive platform.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Xelup.pro does not offer any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and data and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Xelup Scam Overview

Originally, Xelup poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this service is partnerships with celebrities that are known in the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, frauds use deepfake videos with those celebs advertise the fraud as if it was 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 a transparent scam.

Xelup Scam

Initially, Xelup repeats the layout of numerous equivalent online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Kelunax, Lexidex or Bit. They are totally undistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other details, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Presumably, all these deceptive online platforms are managed by a single gang of scammers.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Xelup Scam Works?

Xelup is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use several 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 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 create and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign starts. Using bots and sponsored ads (when feasible), fraud actors intensify the presence of their scam activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that promote 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 Xelup in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an encouragement to enroll, enticed by the assurance of getting crypto rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, fake claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, users end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Xelup”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Xelup, “Start earning with Xelup – they look rather authoritative. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that claiming the pledged bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, unexperienced users happily keep on – especially since the bonus appears to be right behind the corner.

This is the last stage when it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal info, frauds will not be able to 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 mentioned, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – username, email, crypto wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, crooks can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, you cannot use the promised bonus right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, 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 purchases require you to have capital on your account. In the case of Xelup, users are also forced to top up to get the bonuses. And this is what creates most of the money 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 trading on this site hoping to use all the transferred capital 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 website says, you can spot that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out 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 fraudsters have zero intentions to give your money back. But to make it look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what KYC guidelines say, but in this case they are here only to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal information, deceivers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed 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 share more and more information, 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 Xelup.pro. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. Xelup 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%, Xelup exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying Xelup as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. Xelup 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. Xelup.pro 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. Xelup 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 Xelup 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.

• Secure Your Actions. Begin by promptly reporting the scam to appropriate local authorities tasked with handling financial fraud. Notify wallet providers and engage with social networks’ technical support teams. By taking these measures, you contribute to making the scammers’ operations significantly more difficult.
• Expand Awareness. Extend your efforts by sharing the scam information with your close friends. This action has a parallel effect to reporting to the authorities, as disseminating details about fraudulent crypto services reduces the potential victims they can deceive.
• Gather Evidence. Preserve comprehensive evidence by capturing screenshots and saving all pertinent data linked to the deceptive website. Collect the URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These materials could prove invaluable for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Explore Refund Possibilities. While cryptocurrency payments generally fall outside the scope of refund policies within most banks, it’s worth investigating the potential for a refund in specific circumstances. Maintain optimism until you definitively confirm the loss.
• Convert Mistake into Wisdom. Transform your financial setback into a valuable learning experience. Treat your loss as an investment in understanding the tactics of crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their key characteristics, how they lure individuals, and the grandiose promises they make. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to recognize and avoid falling into future traps without incurring further losses.

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 get in touch with you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may offer you to set up “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we already determined, these scoundrels have no intent of giving back your money. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – this is another side of the deceptive plan designed to entice you into willingly installing harmful applications onto your device.

Both extensions and files attached to email messages can function as a carrier for diverse malware. In this situation, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As stated, their conscience is of no concern, and their dignity is already neck deep in mud. They have no principles to lose and strive to maximize revenues.

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