We Looked at the Evidence: Is Xetow Legit or Scam?

Recently, Xetow.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a platform to keep cryptocurrency and other assets safely. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly reveals it is, actually, a deceptive service.

Regardless of the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Xetow.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a shiny wrap around a dirty scam, which takes your funds and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

Xetow Scam Overview

Originally, Xetow poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable selling 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 more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the fake crypto service as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, 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.

Xetow Scam

Initially, Xetow copies the design of numerous equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Vexonax, Forinax or Bitfiex. They are completely undistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with slight discrepancies in the site header. Other details, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are unchanged. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are managed by the same gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Xetow Scam Works?

Xetow is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating vividly in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical overall layout. Another mutual 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 initiate the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They primarily target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign commences. Using bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), fraud actors intensify the presence of their fraudulent activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not disdain using generative AI for creating videos with the mentioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

Upon clicking the promos, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Xetow”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Xetow, “Start earning with Xetow – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that retrieving the promised bonus requires registration. And as nothing suspicious happens at this point, uninformed users happily move on – especially as the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to skip the scam without any losses. Before you register using your personal data, rascals 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, scammers bait folks into registration to get bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, swindlers can earn quite a penny. Still, 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, you need to top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final step of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any cryptocurrency purchases require you to have funds on your account. With Xetow, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the cash flow to this scam website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start participating on this site hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This is where the problems start to surface. When keeping an eye on the actual crypto wallet vs what the website says, you can observe 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

Needless to say that scoundrels are naught on intentions to send you money. But to make it look more realistic, they’ve crafted a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Xetow.com they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By asking for your personal information, deceivers 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 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 Xetow.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Absent company details. Xetow 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 Xetow 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 Xetow, 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 Xetow is a definite scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Xetow 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 duration of the scam, its actors may reach out to you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to facilitate access to your crypto assets. As we already determined, these scammers have no intention of restoring your money. So, what do these messages and browser plugins represent? You guessed – that is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into willingly running destructive applications onto your system.

Both plugins and attachments included to email messages can serve as a carrier for different malicious software. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of threats. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always above zero. As stated, their morality is of no concern, and their reputation is already neck deep in mud. They have nothing to give up and intend to boost revenues.

Frequently asked questions