Investigating Xplatzen: Legit or Scam? The Truth Exposed

Recently, Xplatzen.com service appeared, promoting itself as a place to store cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather credible supporting information that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Despite the promises of the most convenient, trustworthy, and client-friendly service, Xplatzen.com does not follow any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a blatant scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any tales about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

Xplatzen Scam Overview

Originally, Xplatzen poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet service with remarkably low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known in 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, frauds employ AI-generated videos with those celebs promote the fake crypto service 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 said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

Xplatzen Scam

Initially, Xplatzen shares the design of numerous similar online platforms. There are quite a few examples, like Vozdex, Tohvex or Tertox. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the site header. Other particulars, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these fraudulent sites are managed by a single gang of frauds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Xplatzen Scam Works?

Xplatzen is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively 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 advanced 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 fraud, criminals set up and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly focus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the marketing campaign starts. Utilizing bots and sponsored ads (when achievable), scam actors boost the visibility of their fraudulent activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks 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 registers the service immediately.

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

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, targets end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Xplatzen”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Xplatzen, “Start earning with Xplatzen – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, crooks say that unlocking the promoted bonus requires registration. And as nothing questionable happens at this point, uninformed 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 skip the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal data, crooks will not be able to earn even a nickel 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 info needed for it – username, email, cryptocurrency wallet address – are valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this data and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Still, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the claimed bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make it at least usable for cryptocurrency purchases, you need to top up the account with the equivalent sum. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

It is obvious that any cryptocurrency operations require having money on your account. In the case of Xplatzen, users are also coerced to top up to claim the bonuses. And this is what creates the majority 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 engaging on this website hoping to use all the credited funds and withdraw them.

This is where the first obvious issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real crypto wallet vs what the site 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 scoundrels are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve made up a whole bunch of reasons to decline the withdrawal request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client regulations say, but in this case they are here only to make the wireout impossible.

By asking for 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 grand back. And every check will reveal 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 Xplatzen.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Xplatzen 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.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional 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, scoundrels may contact you with specific files. Alternatively, they may propose you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to streamline access to your cryptocurrency funds. As we earlier determined, these deceivers have no plan of restoring your funds. So, what can these messages and browser plugins represent? Correct – that is another component of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately running malicious software onto your device.

Both extensions and attachments added to email messages can function as a shell for various malicious code. In this case, I expect the presence of spyware and stealers among other forms of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the probability is always significant. As noted, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already severely tarnished. They have nothing to give up and intend to boost profits.

Frequently asked questions