News / National
Zimbabweans lose money to bogus Bitcoin trading company - InnBucks, Ecocash abused in the racket to lure unsuspecting clients
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Scores of Zimbabweans have fallen victim to a bogus trading platform syndicate that advertises on Facebook as InnBucks Investment to lure people into depositing their money through Ecocash into an individual account, which is then transferred to a fake trading platform called Amexcyp Market, purportedly to assist them in making a profit through Bitcoin trading.
The unsuspecting clients are then asked to open accounts or register with the trading platform using this link: https://www.amexcypmarket.com/index.html
On Facebook, the bogus traders advertised on December 21 2024, that they are doing InnBucks Investment.
"Here is an opportunity to make x3 of your investment without any hidden fees or withdrawal fees 100% safe and secure. And also have access to your trading account. Send us a message now to start," reads the post.
On December 19, 2024 they had posted that "Other platforms may falter, but we remain the best place for safe and secure coins trading in Zimbabwe. Trade on InnBucks investment today!"
However, InnBucks, through its Facebook page on May 27, warned its clients after an enquiry by Bulawayo24.com on the authenticity of the Investment post.
"Stay vigilant, stay safe. Never share your InnBucks PIN, OTP, or ID number with anyone. InnBucks does not carry out Investment schemes, always verify the authenticity of pages through our official channels—call us on 569 or message us on our official social media platforms. Be on the lookout for fake pages and scammers like the ones below," reads the InnBucks post which attached the bogus traders posts.
The post by bogus traders has a WhatsApp icon that directs unsuspecting clients to an agent who identifies herself as Michelle Chiunda from InnBucks Investment on Facebook.
She is using the number 078 625 1429 on WhatsApp only, and when you call the number, it's received by a person who seems not to be aware of the trading business and the WhatsApp account.
Investigations on the number's registration established it was owned by Purity Katanda.
When Chiunda was questioned on WhatsApp why the number she was using was in another person's name, she claimed that it was registered in her sister's name and claimed that Katanda was her mother's surname, while Chiunda was her father's surname. She said she uses both surnames.
When Bulawayo24.com called the number, it was answered by a woman who expressed ignorance about Chiunda and seemed unaware that her number was being used to lure people into so-called Innbucks Investment, a sign that her number could have been hacked.
In their advertisement, the purported agent named Chiunda, who believed the journalist was a client to be her victim, said that one invests $100 and the company is going to be trading on his or her behalf using an Auto electronic mining machine.
"This manchine is 100% guaranteed for locking all incoming profit, it also keeps the trade signal stable to prevent any negative effect from MARKET-CAP," she said.
"The trade takes 24 hours to complete. After the trade is completed, the company makes X13 of the money you invested, X10 of this profit shall be sent to your account immediately by the company we get the remaining X3 Profit."
She said this means if one invests $50, they get $500, and if one invests $100, they will get $1500, respectively, as profit.
"You can receive it into your Ecocash, Innbucks or Mukuru account. A link will be given to you to create your trading account after which you make your deposit immediately," she said.
When asked what happens when one has a query, where would the person report, she said there won't be any queries, and in case it happens, one must report to InnBucks and Ecocash.
She claimed that their investment is in association with the two money transfer institutions, without knowing that Bulawayo24.com had already enquired with InnBucks, which distanced itself from the scam and indicated that the suspects had since been reported to the police and authorities.
For one to register to trade in the platform, which in fact is done on his or her behalf by Chiunda he or she must click the link Www.Amexcypmarket.com and open an account in which after that sends a screenshot to Chiunda who qualifies it as successful and then give an ecocash number to send initial investment starting from $50/$100.
Chiunda would give her clients the number 0775959992 registered in Crispen Mukaro's name.
The duped clients said they would then send the money to the number and then send a screenshot of the receipt to Chiunda, who would then punch the amount into the system.
The clients said that after the figures are punched, Chiunda would then send them a message advising them to check their trading platform's dashboard, where they would see the entered deposit and the total profit with inflated figures, which made them believe the trading was a blessing for them.
"I deposited $50 and later on Chiunda sent me a message to check the dashboard and I realised that it was reading a balance of $583 which was said to be my total possible withdrawal and was advised to wait for 24 hours as trading was ongoing. When the time for withdrawal came. Chiunda told me to check the dashboard and indicated that my dashboard had been locked because of loss of signal and advised that for it to be unlocked, I must deposit $100," said the disgruntled client.
"I complained over the issue, indicating that earlier on they had said there won't be any problem, but Chiunda insisted that I must make payment. It took two days before I conceded and deposited $100. After depositing, Chiunda advised me to check the dashboard and now it was reading $1850 which she said was my total profit."
The unsuspecting client indicated that later on Chiunda told her to check the dashboard and click the withdrawal channel.
"I clicked the withdrawal button and it led to slots where I punched my details and number when the money would be deposited into my ecocash. When clicking it happened that the system suddenly froze and had to click for the second time. Just a moment after that Chiunda asked how many times have you clicked, it appears you have clicked more than once so the system will be on hold until you pay some more money," said the client.
"When I asked how much I am supposed to deposit, she said $300. I challenged that saying the system is manipulative and a scam. I told her that this was the way they exploit unsuspecting clients. She however, seemed genuinely willing to assist me get my profit and even said she will settle $200 for the signal and I should at least pay $100 to get my profit. I was adamant that I no longer wanted anything to do with them and they should get away with what they have stolen from me."
The client said Chiunda was not relenting and insisted that she should get her profit and not just lose hope adding that once the money is deposited she will be able to withdraw at once.
"I refused for almost a week to pay, until just because of my curiosity to see if it's real I ended up saying I have only $50. Chiunda initially refused to accept it but later said pay it and you will be able to withdraw the money. I then sent the money to Mukaro and sent a receipt to Chiunda who added the money into the system and advised me to check the dashboard. It was reading a whopping $3540," she said.
"But unlike what she said that when money is deposited I will be able to withdraw suddenly, it took up to the next day for her system to allow withdrawal. When Chiunda told me to withdraw, I did it and followed laid down processes and successfully requested withdrawal, but money could not be sent to my account. Chiunda said I should wait for the reflection in my account. When I realised that it was not being sent to me, I asked her and she advised me to contact her manager by the name Madison Jordan purportedly based in the United States using number +1 (531) 267-7973 which is also included in the Amexcyp platform. Jordan shocked me when she said I should pay an additional $250 for withdrawal to be successful. That is when I realised this is a scam and this was after I had parted with a total of $200 in the name of investment."
The Clients said when they wrote to the support email: support@Amexcypmarket.com on the trading platform, and later on Chiunda is the one who replied saying they have received her query, a sign that the platform was just run by only three people, Chiunda, Mukaro and Jordan.
Investigations to establish the connection between Mukaro and Chiunda in the racket, when contacted Mukaro who claimed to be in Harare and was driving, said she does not personally know Chiunda but what she only knows is that they were dealing in coins together.
"I do not personally know her, but what I know is that since I deal in coins she usually calls me to buy coins and even links her clients with me to pay for coins to me. I have not met her," Mukaro, who was speaking in Shona, said.
Bulawayo24.com then asked for Chiunda's numbers, hoping Mukaro would be having a different number which would get straight to her through call since the one she was using on WhatsApp was being picked by a different person when called, but Mukaro gave the same number that she was using in the bogus trading business on whatsapp.
One of the clients said on contacting Jordan only reachable on WhatsApp she said "My name is Madison Jordan and I'm the Senior account manager of Amexcypmarket. Please explain the problem so I'll hear from you as well."
"She then said there was nothing wrong. She said she checked her system, and I had applied for withdrawal many times which caused congestion and loss of trading signal," the client said Jordan indicated to her.
She said Jordan claimed that the system had encountered congestion due to the multiple withdrawals, which resulted in the loss of the trading signal.
"She then told me to manually restore the signal which will cost me $300. She said immediately when my deposit is made, it will reflect," said the victim of the scam.
"She said it's not about another payment but this is just a minor misunderstanding. She said they were doing this to also ensure that I receive my profit easily. She said she totally understands my concern and they have protocols which they must adhere to. She said this is trading and everything is being monitored on Blockchain."
When contacted to establish the legitimacy of the investment platform and whether it was being done in collaboration with InnBucks, an InnBucks official said "Unfortunately, we do not have that platform, but if you convert the currency to USD, you can then transfer them to your InnBucks. Unfortunately, it is not ours. We have reported them."
Due to high unemployment and poor remuneration in the country, Zimbabwe has seen a proliferation of many bogus fast cash trading scams and work at home scams in which people are made to part with their money from small amounts to very huge amounts in the name of investments and working at home.
This has seen a huge network of criminals who form groups in which members of the rackets pretend to be new members excited about the work and it's benefit so as to make newcomers feel worth parting with more money to benefit at the end.
However, after one puts money in the trading or works platform, it gets locked in and they demand more money from the person so as to get higher benefits.
Indications are that the unsuspecting customers or workers get encouraged to part with more by some members of the group who claim to have withdrawn huge amounts after putting more and most of those who are not members of the group end up losing out after some funds get locked and a more higher figure is demanded for them to be able to withdraw, which they fail to raise and abandon the business at the benefit of the scam groups.
The unsuspecting clients are then asked to open accounts or register with the trading platform using this link: https://www.amexcypmarket.com/index.html
On Facebook, the bogus traders advertised on December 21 2024, that they are doing InnBucks Investment.
"Here is an opportunity to make x3 of your investment without any hidden fees or withdrawal fees 100% safe and secure. And also have access to your trading account. Send us a message now to start," reads the post.
On December 19, 2024 they had posted that "Other platforms may falter, but we remain the best place for safe and secure coins trading in Zimbabwe. Trade on InnBucks investment today!"
However, InnBucks, through its Facebook page on May 27, warned its clients after an enquiry by Bulawayo24.com on the authenticity of the Investment post.
"Stay vigilant, stay safe. Never share your InnBucks PIN, OTP, or ID number with anyone. InnBucks does not carry out Investment schemes, always verify the authenticity of pages through our official channels—call us on 569 or message us on our official social media platforms. Be on the lookout for fake pages and scammers like the ones below," reads the InnBucks post which attached the bogus traders posts.
The post by bogus traders has a WhatsApp icon that directs unsuspecting clients to an agent who identifies herself as Michelle Chiunda from InnBucks Investment on Facebook.
She is using the number 078 625 1429 on WhatsApp only, and when you call the number, it's received by a person who seems not to be aware of the trading business and the WhatsApp account.
Investigations on the number's registration established it was owned by Purity Katanda.
When Chiunda was questioned on WhatsApp why the number she was using was in another person's name, she claimed that it was registered in her sister's name and claimed that Katanda was her mother's surname, while Chiunda was her father's surname. She said she uses both surnames.
When Bulawayo24.com called the number, it was answered by a woman who expressed ignorance about Chiunda and seemed unaware that her number was being used to lure people into so-called Innbucks Investment, a sign that her number could have been hacked.
In their advertisement, the purported agent named Chiunda, who believed the journalist was a client to be her victim, said that one invests $100 and the company is going to be trading on his or her behalf using an Auto electronic mining machine.
"This manchine is 100% guaranteed for locking all incoming profit, it also keeps the trade signal stable to prevent any negative effect from MARKET-CAP," she said.
"The trade takes 24 hours to complete. After the trade is completed, the company makes X13 of the money you invested, X10 of this profit shall be sent to your account immediately by the company we get the remaining X3 Profit."
She said this means if one invests $50, they get $500, and if one invests $100, they will get $1500, respectively, as profit.
"You can receive it into your Ecocash, Innbucks or Mukuru account. A link will be given to you to create your trading account after which you make your deposit immediately," she said.
When asked what happens when one has a query, where would the person report, she said there won't be any queries, and in case it happens, one must report to InnBucks and Ecocash.
She claimed that their investment is in association with the two money transfer institutions, without knowing that Bulawayo24.com had already enquired with InnBucks, which distanced itself from the scam and indicated that the suspects had since been reported to the police and authorities.
For one to register to trade in the platform, which in fact is done on his or her behalf by Chiunda he or she must click the link Www.Amexcypmarket.com and open an account in which after that sends a screenshot to Chiunda who qualifies it as successful and then give an ecocash number to send initial investment starting from $50/$100.
Chiunda would give her clients the number 0775959992 registered in Crispen Mukaro's name.
The duped clients said they would then send the money to the number and then send a screenshot of the receipt to Chiunda, who would then punch the amount into the system.
The clients said that after the figures are punched, Chiunda would then send them a message advising them to check their trading platform's dashboard, where they would see the entered deposit and the total profit with inflated figures, which made them believe the trading was a blessing for them.
"I deposited $50 and later on Chiunda sent me a message to check the dashboard and I realised that it was reading a balance of $583 which was said to be my total possible withdrawal and was advised to wait for 24 hours as trading was ongoing. When the time for withdrawal came. Chiunda told me to check the dashboard and indicated that my dashboard had been locked because of loss of signal and advised that for it to be unlocked, I must deposit $100," said the disgruntled client.
"I complained over the issue, indicating that earlier on they had said there won't be any problem, but Chiunda insisted that I must make payment. It took two days before I conceded and deposited $100. After depositing, Chiunda advised me to check the dashboard and now it was reading $1850 which she said was my total profit."
The unsuspecting client indicated that later on Chiunda told her to check the dashboard and click the withdrawal channel.
"I clicked the withdrawal button and it led to slots where I punched my details and number when the money would be deposited into my ecocash. When clicking it happened that the system suddenly froze and had to click for the second time. Just a moment after that Chiunda asked how many times have you clicked, it appears you have clicked more than once so the system will be on hold until you pay some more money," said the client.
"When I asked how much I am supposed to deposit, she said $300. I challenged that saying the system is manipulative and a scam. I told her that this was the way they exploit unsuspecting clients. She however, seemed genuinely willing to assist me get my profit and even said she will settle $200 for the signal and I should at least pay $100 to get my profit. I was adamant that I no longer wanted anything to do with them and they should get away with what they have stolen from me."
The client said Chiunda was not relenting and insisted that she should get her profit and not just lose hope adding that once the money is deposited she will be able to withdraw at once.
"I refused for almost a week to pay, until just because of my curiosity to see if it's real I ended up saying I have only $50. Chiunda initially refused to accept it but later said pay it and you will be able to withdraw the money. I then sent the money to Mukaro and sent a receipt to Chiunda who added the money into the system and advised me to check the dashboard. It was reading a whopping $3540," she said.
"But unlike what she said that when money is deposited I will be able to withdraw suddenly, it took up to the next day for her system to allow withdrawal. When Chiunda told me to withdraw, I did it and followed laid down processes and successfully requested withdrawal, but money could not be sent to my account. Chiunda said I should wait for the reflection in my account. When I realised that it was not being sent to me, I asked her and she advised me to contact her manager by the name Madison Jordan purportedly based in the United States using number +1 (531) 267-7973 which is also included in the Amexcyp platform. Jordan shocked me when she said I should pay an additional $250 for withdrawal to be successful. That is when I realised this is a scam and this was after I had parted with a total of $200 in the name of investment."
The Clients said when they wrote to the support email: support@Amexcypmarket.com on the trading platform, and later on Chiunda is the one who replied saying they have received her query, a sign that the platform was just run by only three people, Chiunda, Mukaro and Jordan.
Investigations to establish the connection between Mukaro and Chiunda in the racket, when contacted Mukaro who claimed to be in Harare and was driving, said she does not personally know Chiunda but what she only knows is that they were dealing in coins together.
"I do not personally know her, but what I know is that since I deal in coins she usually calls me to buy coins and even links her clients with me to pay for coins to me. I have not met her," Mukaro, who was speaking in Shona, said.
Bulawayo24.com then asked for Chiunda's numbers, hoping Mukaro would be having a different number which would get straight to her through call since the one she was using on WhatsApp was being picked by a different person when called, but Mukaro gave the same number that she was using in the bogus trading business on whatsapp.
One of the clients said on contacting Jordan only reachable on WhatsApp she said "My name is Madison Jordan and I'm the Senior account manager of Amexcypmarket. Please explain the problem so I'll hear from you as well."
"She then said there was nothing wrong. She said she checked her system, and I had applied for withdrawal many times which caused congestion and loss of trading signal," the client said Jordan indicated to her.
She said Jordan claimed that the system had encountered congestion due to the multiple withdrawals, which resulted in the loss of the trading signal.
"She then told me to manually restore the signal which will cost me $300. She said immediately when my deposit is made, it will reflect," said the victim of the scam.
"She said it's not about another payment but this is just a minor misunderstanding. She said they were doing this to also ensure that I receive my profit easily. She said she totally understands my concern and they have protocols which they must adhere to. She said this is trading and everything is being monitored on Blockchain."
When contacted to establish the legitimacy of the investment platform and whether it was being done in collaboration with InnBucks, an InnBucks official said "Unfortunately, we do not have that platform, but if you convert the currency to USD, you can then transfer them to your InnBucks. Unfortunately, it is not ours. We have reported them."
Due to high unemployment and poor remuneration in the country, Zimbabwe has seen a proliferation of many bogus fast cash trading scams and work at home scams in which people are made to part with their money from small amounts to very huge amounts in the name of investments and working at home.
This has seen a huge network of criminals who form groups in which members of the rackets pretend to be new members excited about the work and it's benefit so as to make newcomers feel worth parting with more money to benefit at the end.
However, after one puts money in the trading or works platform, it gets locked in and they demand more money from the person so as to get higher benefits.
Indications are that the unsuspecting customers or workers get encouraged to part with more by some members of the group who claim to have withdrawn huge amounts after putting more and most of those who are not members of the group end up losing out after some funds get locked and a more higher figure is demanded for them to be able to withdraw, which they fail to raise and abandon the business at the benefit of the scam groups.
Source - Byo24News
