Potential Scam Concern: EPICEX Wallet Requires Deposit to Enable Withdrawal

[Pmalek]

The domain was just created a month ago. How did you end up using this wallet? Without deep research or asking someone trusted or even here on the forum?

OP mentioned that in one of his later posts in the thread. He was doing some work online for someone. That person claimed to be from Ukraine and told him the only way he can pay is through this fake scam service. OP accepted and that's how everything started. It's not a small sum, so OP might have wasted a lot of time providing services to the scammer who in return paid him nothing.

We all know that Bitcoin doesn't have such restrictions on a protocol-level, which is another sign that something isn't right.

[hugeblack]

OP accepted and that's how everything started. It's not a small sum, so OP might have wasted a lot of time providing services to the scammer who in return paid him nothing.

We all know that Bitcoin doesn't have such restrictions on a protocol-level, which is another sign that something isn't right.

Not only that, but most likely the scammer runs this site and is trying to trick him again by asking for a deposit of 0.01 BTC. If we search a little bit, we will find more sites related to this scam.

Any service that asks you to deposit in order to withdraw, especially if you have a balance above $100, is a potential scam.

[BitMaxz]

Not only that, but most likely the scammer runs this site and is trying to trick him again by asking for a deposit of 0.01 BTC. If we search a little bit, we will find more sites related to this scam.

Any service that asks you to deposit in order to withdraw, especially if you have a balance above $100, is a potential scam.

If I recall correctly, this is a common tactic used by scammers, and some here have fallen victim to it, asking for another deposit as a fee while promising that the funds will be withdrawable once you deposit another amount.

Even my friend fell victim to this; she stated that someone on Telegram sent her an invitation to exchanges with airdrops worth $1000, but it required a USDT deposit until she asked for help from me because he is unfamiliar with how it works. I am glad she asked and warned her that this was a scam; she even gave me her account password so I could see if I could withdraw the money without depositing more money, but as I previously stated, it is a scam.
And save her to fell into this trap.

[hung99hn]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share a summary of my situation for better clarity and to thank all the experts who have provided valuable guidance in this thread.

Job Offer:

I was approached by someone from Ukraine claiming to be the CEO of a company.
He offered me a job with a payment of 0.16 BTC (50% upfront, 50% upon completion).
Military Restrictions:

He explained that due to military issues, the Ukrainian government does not allow funds to be sent outside the country.
I agreed to proceed under these conditions.
Technical Payment Issue:

When I provided my external wallet for the advance payment, he claimed he couldn’t send BTC to external wallets due to "technical issues."
He said he could only pay via internal wallets on EPICEX and asked me to create one.
Payment Received on EPICEX Wallet:

I created an account on EPICEX and received 0.08 BTC in my wallet.
Withdrawal Problem:

When I tried to withdraw funds to my external wallet, EPICEX support informed me that my account security score was 95/100, and I needed 100/100 to withdraw.
To achieve 100 points, they said I needed to deposit 0.01 BTC into my EPICEX wallet from an external wallet.
Doubts and Seeking Advice:

This deposit requirement raised doubts, so I asked for advice in this forum.
Experts’ Responses:

Many experts confirmed that this is likely a scam, as legitimate wallets or exchanges do not require deposits to enable withdrawals.
They warned that this could lead to further deposit requests with no resolution.
Current Status:

I feel fortunate that I didn’t deposit the requested 0.01 BTC.
I’ve decided to stop pursuing this and treat it as a learning experience.
Thank you all for your insights and advice—it saved me from losing more. I hope this summary helps others avoid similar scams in the future.

Best regards,

Reference Images:

Code:

https://photos.app.[Suspicious link removed]/od4yqy8anzCFNqry6

[ovcijisir]

~

This seems like clear scam to me. You made good decision about not sending money to that wallet. Also big red flag was that the person who offered you job couldn't send you funds on any other wallet and second red flag was requirement to use no-name wallet. It is good that you shared your experience on the forum, it may help someone to avoid getting robbed.

[Pmalek]

I wanted to share a summary of my situation for better clarity and to thank all the experts who have provided valuable guidance in this thread.

Job Offer:

I was approached by someone from Ukraine claiming to be the CEO of a company.
He offered me a job with a payment of 0.16 BTC (50% upfront, 50% upon completion).

Did the person just contact you out of the blue and offered you the job or were you applying for similar jobs somewhere or posting on Telegram/social media that you need a job? How did the scammer find you and why you?

Military Restrictions:

He explained that due to military issues, the Ukrainian government does not allow funds to be sent outside the country.

Complete bullshit, of course. Bitcoin is out of reach of any government or institution. Not only that, but it has gained huge popularity in both Russia and Ukraine precisely due to the war, the sanctions, and Bitcoin's nature of not being under the control of anyone. If governments could hinder the Bitcoin protocol to process transactions, half of the word leaders would have done it by now. At least for common citizens and cannon fodder.

[hung99hn]

Did the person just contact you out of the blue and offered you the job or were you applying for similar jobs somewhere or posting on Telegram/social media that you need a job? How did the scammer find you and why you?

Thank you for the question.

The job offer initially came through a freelance site where I post my work and look for opportunities. As I recall, the person contacted me through another account, which seemed to belong to a recruiter. Later, the recruiter shared the "CEO's" direct email address, and I continued communicating with him from there.

Now, with the help of everyone in this forum, I believe we have a clear understanding of this situation. I appreciate all the guidance and support, but I’ve decided not to dig any deeper into this matter. I would like to move forward with my life and focus on my work.

Thank you again for your support and insights.

Best regards,

[NotATether]

It looks like people are squatting on the domains of dead projects and then selling them to scammers for use in scam projects to impersonate real projects. Or maybe it's the scammers themselves registering the domains.

I wonder how much losses they incur in a year from domains that they never managed to scam anyone with. (Of course, I do not pity them.) Most scammers probably don't make a lot of money.