Type of Scam: Investment Scam

URL of Scam: crypto-crest.com

Description: The scam involved a hacked Facebook account promoting a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment opportunity. The victim was convinced to invest due to the credible appearance of posts and personal endorsements from a familiar contact. After initial payments and apparent profit gains, additional fees were demanded by the website, which were paid by the victim. Subsequently, the associated Facebook account was deleted, and all communications ceased.

Receiving Address: bc1qf2e45jcv0av28an6z8d6xvjjarm5delzrh0cga

Amount Loss: $15,681

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Open-Source Intelligence Analysis: Preliminary Findings on Fraudulent Activities Associated with crypto-crest.com

Current Website:

The site in question, crypto-crest.com, presents itself as a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform but is involved in fraudulent activities, utilizing sophisticated social engineering tactics.

Domain and Hosting Information:

Registrar: PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com

Nameservers: ns1.dns-parking.com, ns2.dns-parking.com (hosted by HOSTINGER operations, UAB)

MX Records: mx1.hostinger.com, mx2.hostinger.com

ISP: Cogent Communications

Key Observations:

The website utilizes a range of technologies and services to appear legitimate and secure, from sophisticated content management systems and web servers to various plugins enhancing user experience and functionality. The usage of well-known payment platforms and CDN services helps to boost the site’s credibility, masking its fraudulent nature.

Conclusion:

This analysis underscores the need for coordinated legal and investigative actions to uncover the entities behind this fraudulent website and mitigate further victimization. By subpoenaing the identified services and platforms, investigators can gather critical data to trace the scam’s infrastructure and potentially recover lost funds.