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

Recently, Zeltonix.com site surfaced, promoting itself as a place where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible evidence that unmistakably confirms it is, in fact, a scam platform.

Regardless of the promises of the most user-friendly, reliable, and customer-centric service, Zeltonix.com does not fulfill any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which takes your money and never returns them. Any tales about gifts, endorsement from celebrities etc are absent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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ZELTONIX Scam Overview

Originally, ZELTONIX poses as a crypto trading & cryptowallet platform with outstandingly low commission fees. Another notable selling point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – 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 fraud as if it was the best thing in the world. For known reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I mentioned above, all this is just a blatant wrap around a transparent scam.

ZELTONIX Scam

First and foremost, ZELTONIX repeats the design of many similar websites. There are quite a few examples, like Zeseray, Zetnex or Xdaywes. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of visual elements, with small discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and at times even crypto wallet addresses, are the same. Most likely, all these deceptive online platforms are operated by the same team of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the ZELTONIX Scam Works?

ZELTONIX is a part of a extensive cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Rascals who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the identical 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 legitimacy of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the deceptive scheme, criminals set up and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They primarily aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign commences. Employing bots and paid advertisements (when achievable), scam actors boost the exposure of their deceptive activities to possible victims. And as I said, crooks do not shy away using generative AI for creating clips with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, swindlers claim the bonus for every user who enrolls the service immediately.

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

Users obtain an incentive to enroll, drawn by the promise of obtaining cryptocurrency rewards valued at thousands of dollars, all without cost. To increase the attractiveness of the offer, false claims of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are entirely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with ZELTONIX”, “Your crypto savings are secured with ZELTONIX, “Start earning with ZELTONIX – they look rather authoritative. To heat up users and make them proceed to step 3, scammers say that unlocking the pledged bonus requires registration. And since nothing suspicious happens at this point, unaware users happily keep on – especially since the reward 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 register using your personal data, swindrels 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 said, deceivers bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal info needed for it – email, username, crypto wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Exclusively by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters 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 at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, 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

Obviously, any crypto operations require having money on your account. In the case of ZELTONIX, users are also compelled to top up to get the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates the majority of the money flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the committed gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start engaging on this site hoping to use all the transferred capital and withdraw them.

This is where the issues start to surface. When keeping an eye on the real cryptocurrency wallet vs what the site says, you can notice 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 have zero intentions to send you money. Though to make the fraud look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole bunch of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Most of them repeat what KYC guidelines say, but for the Zeltonix.com 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 a dozen other checks you should go through before getting your grand back. And each of these checks will uncover more and more info of yours, 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 Zeltonix.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• Unsubstantiated Credibility. ZELTONIX 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%, ZELTONIX exploits the longing for quick profits. However, such gains are unrealistic within the volatile cryptocurrency landscape, unequivocally identifying ZELTONIX as a scam.
• Dubious Corporate Information. ZELTONIX 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. Zeltonix.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. ZELTONIX 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 ZELTONIX 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 scam, its actors may reach out to you with specific documents. Alternatively, they may propose you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these rascals have no plan of giving back your funds. So, what can these messages and browser extensions represent? Correct – that is another element of the deceptive plan designed to throw you into deliberately installing destructive applications onto your computer.

Both plugins and files included to emails can function as a shell for different malware. In this situation, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among other types of malicious programs. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the chance is always existent. As noted, their morality is of little concern, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have nothing to lose and intend to boost gains.

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