A discussion unfolded on the r/CryptoScams forum around yet another suspicious WhatsApp scheme. User fflores72 said that a couple of months ago he joined a group where the administrator doles out crypto trading signals every day (when to open and close short/long positions). Judging by the members' feedback, the signals almost always brought profit. But two things raised red flags for the post's author: trading was conducted through a little-known site called bitcharmax (the domain bitchar had been used previously), and the minimum entry threshold was a whopping $1,000. Initially, the user wanted to put in $100 to test the withdrawal process, but he was refused, which aroused his suspicions.

The commenters instantly delivered their verdict — it's a 100% scam. According to user PeePeeePooPoooh, the bitcharmax domain was created just a few days ago, and all group members except the post's author are fake. User Spectrig added an interesting detail: the scammers abandoned the old bitchar domain because it was seized by the FBI. User Wide-Spray-2186 expanded on this point, explaining that scammers constantly change website names so that search engines don't display fraud warnings when people check them.

According to user AngelOfLight, there is no such thing as a legitimate investment group on WhatsApp. User UpbeatFix7299 aptly noted that wealthy traders don't gather in chats to enrich random people for free. And user SecureWriting8589 advised trying to withdraw the funds right now — this will immediately trigger the "classic lockout", when you'll be demanded extra money for taxes, fines, or verification.

User snuggly_cobra outright mocked the exchange's name, comparing the situation to switching from the official White House website to a phishing domain. As user sorrowedwhiskypriest summed it up, no legitimate financial institution does business via WhatsApp. So if someone invites you to trade with 100x leverage on a brand-new site for a thousand dollars — go ahead and delete that contact without hesitation.