QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
UNKNOWN
NOVEMBER 2019
GLOBAL
BEENTRADE
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

"#Scam alert: some guys had setup a #fake #crypto exchange (many domain names) in which you can only deposit but not withdraw. The domain names looks respectable, UX looks decent (stolen from @cex_io) and they have TLS certs and DDoS protection from @cloudflare."
"Guy will write a message like:"
"I have good amount of BTC on a gambling site, I have reached withdrawing limit and can't get anymore money of there… my irl friends are out of country, they cant help me right now, and I need this money till tomorrow … so the only way I see to ask strangers to help me, if I could send you btc there, could you withdraw it for me? you can take some % of my balance no worries maybe I am stupid and naive cuz of trusting stranger but i really dont have another way."
"He will then convince you to install a browser add-on. And leads you to beentrade which is his site. End result. You lose all your funds."
"Dear @TalBeerySec, let us express our sincere gratitude regarding your profound investigation. We try to fight the impostors back, but they always find a new way to create countless copies. We'll use this information when reporting these websites on our end. Thank you a lot."
The website BeenTrade claimed to be a cryptocurrency trading platform. In reality, it directly copied from the popular platform cex.io and allowed deposits but not withdrawals. Multiple users complained about losing funds there before the platform was shut down.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
A key problem in the cryptocurrency space is that launching and registering legitimate platforms is far too challenging and expensive. Therefore, many platforms are forced to operate in an offshore manner. Users become used to sending their money offshore and registering with such platforms, and never check the legitimacy of any platform. Thus, they are vulnerable to imposters like this.
@TalBeerySec Twitter (Jun 26)
@cex_io Twitter (Jul 26)
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/beentrade.org (Jul 26)
Beentrade Reviews {July 2022} - Beentrade (Legit Or Another Scam?) (Jul 26)
