We Investigated Zitorex: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Zitorex.com site popped up, promoting itself as a platform where you can safely store cryptocurrency and other assets. I managed to gather credible proof that clearly indicates it is, in truth, a deceptive service.

Despite the promises of the most easy, reliable, and customer-centric service, Zitorex.com does not offer any of them. All this is just a golden wrap around a clear scam, which steals your money and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, backing from celebrities etc are nowhere to be found as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Zitorex Scam Overview

Originally, Zitorex poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet platform with exceptionally low commission fees. Another bright marketing point for this platform is partnerships with celebrities that have relation to the crypto world. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site says about being supported by them. To make these claims look more realistic, rascals employ AI-generated videos where those celebrities advertise the scam 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 vivid wrap around an obvious scam.

Zitorex Scam

To begin with, Zitorex copies the design of multiple equivalent pages. There are quite a few examples, like Luenix, Upxcar or Coenux. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with slight discrepancies in the webpage header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Most likely, all these scam websites are operated by the same gang of scoundrels.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Zitorex Scam Works?

Zitorex is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Swindlers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the similar 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 validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To start the scam, criminals create and fill accounts on popular social media platforms. They generally target Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the promotional campaign begins. Utilizing bots and paid promotions (when feasible), fraud actors increase the visibility of their deceptive activities to potential victims. And as I said, fraudsters do not shy away using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebrities that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, frauds claim the bonus for every user who registers the service immediately.

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

Users get a stimulus to sign up, attracted by the commitment of obtaining cryptocurrency prizes valued at hundreds of dollars, all free of charge. To increase the appeal of the offer, false suggestions of cooperation with a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these assertions are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After clicking the promos, users end up on a page filled with enticing offers. “Crypto starts with Zitorex”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Zitorex, “Start earning with Zitorex – they look rather reliable. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, fraudsters say that getting the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, unaware users happily proceed – especially as 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 register using your personal info, crooks 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 said, scammers bait folks into registration for bonuses. And all the personal data needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Only by gathering this information and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters 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, 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 cryptocurrency purchases require having capital on your account. With Zitorex, users are also coerced to top up to use the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the cash flow to this fraudulent website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the pledged gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading 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 real crypto wallet vs what the website 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

Needless to say that scoundrels are naught on intentions to return your money. But to make the denial look more legitimate, they’ve elaborated a whole pack of reasons to decline the transfer-out request. Usually, they repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but in this case they are here exclusively 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 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 Zitorex.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

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

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Zitorex 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, rascals may contact you with particular documents. Alternatively, they may suggest you to deploy “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your crypto assets. As we earlier figured out, these scammers have no intent of restoring your capital. So, what do these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into deliberately installing malicious programs onto your computer.

Both extensions and attachments added to emails can serve as a carrier for diverse malware. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all types of malware. While it is not obligatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As noted, their ethics is of no concern, and their reputation is already seriously marred. They have no scruples to give up and strive to boost revenues.

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