The Promo Code Trap: Inside the Deepfake Giveaway Exchange Networks

A large family of fake cryptocurrency exchanges has been flooding the internet, and they all run the same trick. The brand names and domains keep changing, but the sites are built from a handful of shared templates, and the scam behind them is always identical. Victims are lured in with videos of famous people promising free Bitcoin, sent to a slick looking exchange, and then robbed the moment they make a deposit.

None of these platforms are real exchanges. There is no company, no license and no trading engine. The balance you see on screen is just a number the scammers typed in, and the only real money that ever moves is the crypto you send them.

We have grouped the sites into networks based on the website template they share. They all follow the same playbook, described below, so learning it once protects you from every one of them.

How the deepfake giveaway scam works

The setup is always the same. Only the celebrity and the promo code change:

1. Fake celebrity video. Scammers use deepfake and voice cloning to make it look like Cristiano Ronaldo, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett or Drake is announcing a Bitcoin giveaway tied to the exchange.
2. Spread on social media. The clips are pushed across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, often as paid ads and through crypto hashtags, so they reach as many people as possible.
3. Sign up and enter a promo code. Viewers are told to register and type a code such as CR7, Tiktok11 or BOSS to claim their reward.
4. A fake balance appears. The code drops a made up balance of around 0.31 BTC into the dashboard, so it looks like the free crypto really landed.
5. The withdrawal is blocked. When the user tries to cash out, the site says they must first deposit a small amount, usually around 0.005 BTC, to activate or verify withdrawals.
6. The deposit is stolen. That deposit is real money and it goes straight to the scammers. The promised balance never existed, and once enough people have paid, the site goes dark and reappears under a new name.

How to recognise one of these fake exchanges

• A celebrity video or ad promising free Bitcoin if you sign up and enter a promo code.
• A generous welcome balance that shows up before you have deposited anything.
• A demand to deposit crypto first in order to unlock or activate a withdrawal.
• Claims of being online since 2017 or earlier, on a domain that is only weeks or months old.
• No verifiable company, no license, no real address or phone, and support that only exists to push you to deposit.
• A design that looks oddly familiar, because dozens of other scam sites use the exact same template.

The networks we have identified

These sites split into several template families. The look differs a little from one family to the next, but the giveaway and the deposit trap are the same across all of them. Each list below is fully linked, so you can check any individual site.

Fake DEX Network (triangle logo)

This group shares a small triangle logo next to the brand name and a common homepage layout. Two examples side by side show how identical they really are:

Batenex→Belomex→Bitsalex→BitsFox→Blusar→Cloudxbit→Detexed→Dogetox→Exonlex→Fynorex→Ixgrant→Jettwex→Keftox→Kelomex→Maforx→Rexwox→Senwox→Trumuc→Vegaxbit→Volmuc→Vonkex→Wexagon→Xfane→Xhitbtc→Zavrox→Zerfox→Zoxtrade→

Fake DEX Network 2 (swap 150+ template)

These sites use the “Buy, trade, swap 150+ completely decentralized” layout, sometimes with a fake Trustpilot banner near the top. Same template, different brand:

Anodex.top→Bazadex→Bosodex→Bunvex→Conedex→Cryppeak→Cuznex→Decedex→Dedex.top→Desodex→Dexgo.pro→Dexgobit→Eicash→Ekedex→Elondex→Elonedex→Elonzex→Gafodex→Gegdex→Getxdex→Gobenex→Gorwedex→Hasodex→Haspace→Hogodex→Jetxdex→Kuzadex→Muskebit→Nasadex→Nekodex.top→Satodex→Senoex→Spxdex→Tuedex→Unesdex→Uspaze→Wowdex→Xavadex→Xdex.top→

Fake DEX Network 3

A smaller family built on another shared template, running the very same giveaway scam:

Bifetex→Bitgexen→Byddex→Crypturia→Doldex→StormLedger→Swifttoken.biz→

What to do if you already deposited

• Stop sending money. No extra fee or deposit will ever release a withdrawal. Every new request is just another way to take more.
• Screenshot everything: the site, your account, the videos, the wallet addresses and any chat.
• Report the wallet addresses to your local police or cybercrime unit and to your national financial regulator.
• If you used a card or bank transfer to buy the crypto, contact your bank right away.
• Warn others by leaving a review, so the next person who searches the name finds the truth.

Frequently asked questions