A victim recently fell for a cryptocurrency investment scam through the website Upbitexd.top, resulting in the loss of $130,000. The scam began with a seemingly innocent interaction on Discord, where the scammer sent a friend request and eventually convinced the victim to invest in a trading opportunity. The victim, following the scammer’s guidance, linked their Coinbase wallet to Upbitexd.top, a step that led to the unfortunate transfer of funds.

The Red Flag
After linking the Coinbase wallet, the victim was initially unable to withdraw funds from the platform. The scammer then claimed that a security deposit was required to release the funds. At this point, the victim realized that they had been scammed, but by then, the funds had already been transferred from Crypto.com to Upbitexd.top, and the victim’s account was completely wiped.

The victim contacted the scammer, who provided the email address (upbit5632@gmail.com), but there was no response, and all attempts to recover the funds were in vain. The victim now seeks help to recover the $130,000 lost in this fraudulent scheme.

Transaction Details
The victim transferred significant amounts of USDC to a common wallet address over several months. Below are the details of the cryptocurrency transactions:

August 16, 2024: 17,990 USDC, May 7, 2024: 31,386.08 USDC, June 27, 2024: 22,490 USDC, June 12, 2024: 24,990 USDC, June 10, 2024: 12,990 USDC, these transfers, totaling $109,836.08 USDC, were all sent to the same wallet address: 0x4dD3c8f6408cf5d595FC43d86042ad22BAAB141A.

Domain Information
The fraudulent website Upbitexd.top was registered on June 13, 2024, and is set to expire on June 13, 2025. The domain is currently in a clientHold status, a red flag indicating potential fraud or misuse. The registrar for the domain is Domain International Services Limited, which further raises suspicions about the legitimacy of the website. The name servers for the site are rayne.ns.cloudflare.com and rommy.ns.cloudflare.com, both linked to Cloudflare, which is commonly used by scammers to hide their true identity and protect their activities.

Conclusion
This scam serves as another stark reminder of the risks associated with online cryptocurrency investments. The victim, having been coached to invest by the scammer, was left with no recourse once the funds were transferred to the scam website. The red flags were clear — demands for security deposits and inability to withdraw funds — yet the victim’s trust in the scammer led to a devastating financial loss.

To avoid falling into such traps, it is crucial for anyone considering cryptocurrency investments to verify the legitimacy of any platform thoroughly. Scammers often use social media platforms like Discord, Facebook etc to establish initial contact and then manipulate victims into transferring funds. If you find yourself in a similar situation, it’s vital to stop all transactions immediately and report the incident to the appropriate authorities.