Recently, we received a concerning complaint from an individual who fell victim to a sophisticated cryptocurrency scam involving the website def1.vip. The complainant, who is now bankrupt after borrowing substantial money, invested $105,783 in USDT through the Trust Wallet following an investment request from def1.vip. The scam unfolded in a series of manipulative tactics, ultimately losing their entire investment. After initially investing $80,000 USDT, the victim was asked to complete additional reward activities involving further payments. Despite complying and transferring $105,783, the funds were eventually withdrawn from def1.vip to an unknown wallet address, leaving the victim with nothing.

In another case related to def1.vip, a significant amount of $500,000 was lost under similar circumstances. The victims were initially enticed with a reward of 30 ETH but were then required to make several additional payments, including a $65,000 USDT fee to withdraw the reward and a $55,000 USDT verification amount. Despite fulfilling these demands, the scam continued, with the perpetrators asking for another 20% of the withdrawal amount and threatening to block the funds for 360 days if not paid.

Receiving Address: 0x45c89cBD58FB10a3C8c9b4ED8d05e97150872a36

The receiving address 0x45c89cBD58FB10a3C8c9b4ED8d05e97150872a36 is a notable entity in the Ethereum network, having recorded significant activity over the past few months. This address first received a balance change approximately six months ago and last engaged in a transaction about two months ago. Throughout its operational period, it has been involved in a substantial number of transactions, totaling 1,145 transactions. It has also seen a high volume of call activity, including successful and failed attempts, totaling 982 calls.

Financially, the address has received an approximate total of 2.098976 ETH, which equates to about $6,899.39 USD. Out of this, approximately 0.879376 ETH, valued at $2,892.74 USD, has been spent. The address holds a balance of 0 ETH and does not possess any ERC-20 tokens, indicating that any funds received have been quickly moved or spent.

The significant transaction activity and rapid turnover of funds, combined with the high volume of calls, suggest a pattern consistent with scam operations. The address’s involvement in the receipt and quick dispersal of large sums of cryptocurrency aligns with the behaviors observed in the complaints against def1.vip, thereby reinforcing the likelihood that it is being used for fraudulent purposes.

Domain Analysis

The domain def1.vip was registered relatively recently on February 5, 2024, and is set to expire on February 5, 2025. It was last updated on February 10, 2024, and is registered through Gname.com Pte. Ltd. The domain has its name servers set to jeremy.ns.cloudflare.com and anita.ns.cloudflare.com, with the registrant listed as being located in Illinois, USA.

Despite its short lifespan, def1.vip has already accumulated several indicators of dubious activity. The domain authority score is negligible and ranks poorly on various SEO metrics. No organic or paid search traffic is associated with this domain, nor does it have any significant presence in keyword rankings. This lack of visibility and search engine presence is often a red flag, suggesting the domain may be part of a temporary or fraudulent operation designed to avoid detection.

The backlink profile of def1.vip also raises concerns. It has 16 backlinks from 10 referring domains, but these backlinks are predominantly “nofollow,” which means they do not contribute to the domain’s authority. Moreover, the referring domains, such as bitcoinmix.biz and indiatodays.in, are questionable, as they are often associated with low-quality or spammy content. The backlinks are primarily text-based, with no significant follow links to boost the domain’s credibility.

Def1.vip Review

Upon reviewing the website def1.vip and examining its source code, several serious red flags indicative of a scam become evident. The site claims to be associated with defi-ETH and features numerous attempts to establish credibility by including various scripts and external references. However, the absence of tangible contact details such as addresses, emails, phone numbers, or social media accounts is a significant red flag. Legitimate businesses typically provide multiple channels for customer support and communication, which are conspicuously missing from def1.vip.

Moreover, the site relies heavily on JavaScript for its functionality, including loading essential content through scripts hosted on external servers. This practice can be exploited to manipulate or obscure critical information, making it easier for scammers to alter site behavior without detection. The presence of a script that appears to load tracking pixels from Facebook for tracking page views further indicates a potential misuse of user data.