On July 9, 2024, a YouTube video from the channel “Arbitrage Blick” caught the attention of unsuspecting viewers by promoting an exchange with supposedly lower fees. Among the victims, one individual reported losing $13,810 to bitiqs.net, a fraudulent platform posing as a legitimate exchange. The victim first transferred $4,031.67 worth of XRP from their uphold.com account to bitiqs.net, believing in the promise of low transaction fees. Subsequently, they were tricked into making additional deposits, amounting to $1,075.05, $1,516.71, and more, under the pretense of unlocking withdrawal features and achieving a “premium” account status.

Despite complying with these demands, the victim faced endless barriers and was asked for even more money, including a $3,000 UK Money Laundering Act insurance fee and a $5,000 unblock fee. This relentless extortion led to the loss of their life savings. Despite contacting bitiqs.net’s customer support, they received only automated, copy-pasted responses. The receiving address involved in this scam is rMrBAzHAHBtY7DvkSf8JkAsxn89HBnXoLD.

Receiving Address: rMrBAzHAHBtY7DvkSf8JkAsxn89HBnXoLD

The receiving address rMrBAzHAHBtY7DvkSf8JkAsxn89HBnXoLD, associated with the bitiqs.net scam, has a notable transaction history that aligns with the fraudulent activities reported by victims. This address has received significant XRP, with a main balance exceeding 125,985 XRP, equivalent to approximately $71,143.90 USD. The transactional history shows a consistent pattern of receiving and sending XRP, indicating active use.

Multiple transactions occurred on August 2, 2024, including both received and sent amounts, reflecting a fluid movement of funds. These transactions align with the victim’s report of transferring XRP to this address. The large balance and frequent transactions are red flags that suggest the address is being used in a high-volume scam operation. They corroborate the claims of constant demands for additional deposits under various pretexts, making it nearly impossible for victims to withdraw their funds.

Domain Analysis

The domain bitiqs.net was recently registered on July 2, 2024, through Tucows Domains Inc. It is set to expire in a year on July 2, 2025. The name servers are hosted by Cloudflare, providing a layer of anonymity and protection against certain types of attacks. The registrant is in Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN).

The domain’s digital footprint is minimal. It has a zero authority score on Semrush, indicating it lacks significant trust and influence online. There is no organic or paid search traffic, nor does it rank for any keywords, suggesting it is not optimized for search engines and has no visibility. This is a red flag for any legitimate business, as credible companies usually invest in their online presence to attract and convert customers.

The backlinks profile is sparse, with only four backlinks from three referring domains, none of which are high-quality or authoritative sites. The referring domains include trustedrevie.ws, indiatodays.in, and rao5s.vn, but the backlinks are nofollow, meaning they do not pass authority to bitiqs.net. The presence of backlinks from sites offering backlink services suggests an attempt to inflate the site’s credibility artificially, a common tactic used by fraudulent entities.

Bitiqs.net Review

The bitiqs.net website presents itself as an advanced cryptocurrency exchange offering various financial services, including spot trading, futures trading, and staking. It claims to provide high-performance trading with low fees and robust security measures, positioning itself as a professional and reliable platform. However, several aspects of the website raise significant red flags indicative of a scam.

The site’s investment calculator prominently features unrealistic returns, such as a 250% profit in three months on a $10,000 investment. Such high returns in a short period are typical hallmarks of Ponzi schemes and fraudulent platforms. The site claims to offer up to 100x leverage trading, which is extremely risky and often used to lure inexperienced traders into losing their funds.

The contact information provided includes two email addresses: listing@bitiqs.net and partnership@bitiqs.net. The absence of a physical address or phone number is concerning, as legitimate businesses typically provide more comprehensive contact details. Additionally, there is no mention of any social media accounts, which further limits the transparency and accessibility of the company.

The website claims compliance with various security and legal standards but lacks specific regulatory information or licenses that would verify these claims. The legal section includes terms of service, privacy notice, cookies policy, AML & KYC policy, and a risk disclosure statement. Yet, there is no concrete information about the company’s registration or regulatory oversight. This ambiguity is another serious red flag, as legitimate exchanges are usually transparent about their regulatory status and provide verifiable details.

Furthermore, the site’s design and promotional materials, including the exaggerated profit calculator and the promise of “instant” trading success, are designed to entice users into depositing funds quickly. Combined with the lack of verifiable company information and unrealistic promises, these elements strongly suggest that bitiqs.net is not a legitimate trading platform but a sophisticated scam.

Chainabuse Report: Ransomware and Scam Tactics

The website bitiqs.net has been reported on Chainabuse.com under the Ransomware category, highlighting its association with fraudulent activities. The report reveals that a YouTube channel promotes these dodgy exchanges, luring users with promises of high returns and low fees. Once users transfer their funds to the exchange, bitiqs.net freezes the assets and demands additional payments as release fees. These fees are purported to be for account verification or other spurious reasons. However, once paid, the platform locks users out of their accounts, effectively stealing their money.

These fraudulent transactions are associated with a specific Ethereum address, 0x1591fe8cA13e2148d1de09f96595f5652063A404, further validating the pattern of scam behavior linked to bitiqs.net. The modus operandi involves exploiting trust by using an authoritative-looking YouTube channel to advertise the exchange, followed by systematic extortion through repeated demands for more deposits. This approach preys on the victims’ hope of recovering their funds, only to trap them in an endless cycle of payments and blocked withdrawals.

Bitiqs.net Reviews

The reviews of bitiqs.net across various platforms overwhelmingly indicate that the site is a scam. Multiple users report losing significant amounts of money after being lured in by initial smooth transactions. One user on Trustpilot shared their experience, stating, “No problem for the first two small dollar trades. Then I upped the ante… I lost several thousand dollars.” This pattern of allowing small successful withdrawals before blocking access and demanding more deposits is a common scam tactic. Another user lamented, “This is a complete scam. They make it look really good. However, they freeze your account after a few transactions and tell you the only way to verify the account is to send them a deposit.”

Further, the reviews highlight the deceptive nature of bitiqs.net’s customer service. Users report being required to pay multiple verification fees, which only leads to more money demands. One user described the experience: “They just block your withdrawal. Then they force you to do a verification process… Once done, the funds would be free for withdrawal. However, they have deposit fees.”

Additional concerns about the platform’s promotion are raised via a YouTube channel called “Arbitrage Blick.” Several reviews mention this channel as part of the scam, warning others to avoid it. A user stated, “The company is a scam hiding behind chatbots. Initial ‘test’ transactions went thru OK, however, once you start working on the platform, you begin to have issues.”

Users’ experiences collectively paint a picture of a highly sophisticated scam operation. They exploit trust with initial successful trades, then trap users into endless deposits under various pretexts, eventually locking them out and stealing their funds. The consensus among reviewers is clear: bitiqs.net is not to be trusted.

The Bottom Line Regarding Bitiqs.net

After a thorough analysis of bitiqs.net, it is clear that this platform is a sophisticated scam. The site’s pattern of enticing users with initial successful transactions, followed by freezing accounts and demanding additional deposits under various pretexts, strongly indicates fraudulent activity. The lack of comprehensive contact information, numerous negative reviews from users who have lost substantial amounts of money, and the unrealistic promises of high returns corroborate this conclusion. Despite the professional appearance and enticing offers, bitiqs.net employs classic scam tactics to deceive and exploit unsuspecting investors.