Cbextrade (Cbex9.com): Legit or Scam? Here is My Discovery About Cbex.
The objective of this investigation is to understand how the Cbex Crypto Investment Platform operates and determine whether it’s a scam or a legitimate entity. I also aim to create awareness.
Disclaimer: Before diving into this investigation, I want to state clearly that this research was conducted during my leisure time in collaboration with Alameen Karim Merali. Also, please note that this body of work have no affiliation with any existing or ongoing investigations by the government bodies, private investigators or any individuals.
Firstly, I want everyone reading this to understand the terms “Crypto Investment Scam/Pig-butchering Scam” and how it works.
What is a Pig-Butchering Scam?
A pig butchering scam is a type of fraud where scammers build a relationship with victims, often through social media or dating apps, before luring them into a fake investment scheme. The name derives from the practice of “fattening up” the victim gaining their trust and convincing them to invest larger sums of money over time. But eventually, the scammer disappears with the funds, leaving the victims with significant financial losses.
Curious to know how this type of scam work?
To start, scammers hire web developers from the dark web to create their scam websites. These sites have short registration periods and false office locations, often pretending to be based in Iceland (IS). I’m still trying to understand why they choose Iceland.
These scammers pay website hosting companies and developers using stolen credit card information purchased from the dark web. This way, when law enforcement requests the website domain’s KYC (Know Your Customer), they end up with details from someone else’s stolen credit card, another victim of credit card fraud. Sneaky, right? These websites appear convincing and professional because they are well-made.
Next, they add a wallet address on their website for investments and persuade fellow upcoming scammers to find victims (whom they call investors) on social media. More sophisticated scammers even pay social media influencers to promote their scamming business (brand influencers should perform background checks before endorsement), using fake accounts to boast about fake success stories. It’s all lies. They have templates filled with scam tactics and personal information to trap victims from the first “hello” to the moment they attempt to cash out. On social media, they flaunt fake wealth to lure people in.
When victims send money to the website’s wallet, it goes straight to the scammers, not to any investment accounts. The numbers displayed on the investment dashboard? They are just made-up text created by the developers. The scammers have set formulas to divide the stolen money among themselves typically 30% for the person who brought in the illegal cash, while the website administrator takes 70%. Everything on the website, including reviews and testimonials, is fake. Don’t fall for that ROI.
Let’s get back to business!
What is Cbex?
According to the “About” page on their websites, Cbextade.com and Cbex9.com, “CBEX Trade is a global digital finance and cryptocurrency exchange offering encryption technology, self-hosted wallets, decentralized applications, and open community participation. We specialize in Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum trading services for digital assets worldwide.” Very impressive article, right? lol…
This investigation will solely focus on blockchain transactions, meaning i won’t provide too many details about their questionable websites. I said this because they have managed to avoid owning social media accounts on Meta and X (formerly Twitter), but they do own a Telegram channel with the username: Henry Investment Group (https://t.me/EDG_Investment_Group).
I am just wondering… that if they don’t have any negative motives, why are they avoiding social media companies that have strong relationships with law enforcement worldwide? Another red flag is that no individual or group of people publicly claims ownership of these investment platforms.
so, prior to the Punch News publication dated April 11, 2025, titled “CBEX Sparks Ponzi Scheme Fears as Users Report Withdrawal Delays”, i was moved to launch an investigation into the activities of the self-acclaimed Artificial Intelligence Trading Platforms. The first thing i did was create a sock puppet account on their website Cbex9.com with server IPv4 104.21.23.89. Secondly, i decided to invest USDT worth $301.49 on the platform. I deposited the funds into a TRC20 wallet address TKU9fz6BtKw9pWMdajKXXNmSMFQJQi7YWi provided on my account dashboard on the website. Immediately the USDT hit the wallet, i started monitoring the movement of the fund and guess what, the whole 301.49 USDT was transferred to the wallet TB6pGj8FiR3XbXbE1th4cVHzASs8xXVL4p.
Good one! Further investigation revealed that wallet TB6pGj8FiR3XbXbE1th4cVHzASs8xXVL4p has received cryptocurrencies worth over $800,000 USD between 29th March, 2025 to April, 12th 2025. Based on the higher activities and transactions patterns on the wallet, it is obvious that the wallet is Cbex Funnel Wallet, where all their funds are accumulated before they are transferred elsewhere.
It was also discovered that the largest portion of the funds in the wallet were swapped from USDT to ETH through a Bridging service associated with wallet TPwezUWpEGmFBENNWJHwXHRG1D2NCEEt5s. This DEX service has helped Cbex to swapped and transferred ETH worth over $847,437.66 to an ERC20 wallet: 0x656101388914942284ad3deb6904ce95e448e900. The value of this wallet as at 12th April, 2025 is over $847,437.66.
SEE THE GRAPH BELOW FOR MORE CLARIFICATION.
