Under the guise of a secure wallet, these scammers are simply stealing coins from unsuspecting clients. Recovering assets is nearly impossible because the fraudsters have cleverly included their “right” to block your coins in the service rules.
Refer to the screenshot above, where you can see multiple reviews from clients who complain about being unable to withdraw their assets. This scam is known as KYC (Know Your Customer) fraud. Here, the essence is that under the pretext of verifying the client’s identity, the victim’s wallet gets blocked. Subsequently, the application administration ignores all requests for assistance. This deceitful tactic was first employed by the scammers from Freewallet back in 2016.
Freewallet is scamming users
To grasp the extent of Freewallet’s KYC scam, simply look at some reviews. On one platform alone (Sitejabber), we counted 26 such complaints. Let’s also examine what’s being said about Freewallet on one of the largest cryptocurrency forums, Bitcointalk:
- “When you deposit it all looks OK. I got account suspension after the very first transaction for withdrawing funds to ETH wallet (about $100 value). The system thought it ‘suspicious’ and they didn’t want to give me any cent back without proper ‘identification’.”
- “I have the same issue with Freewallet, I already sent them pictures, documents and videos, and they just request more and more videos of each transaction. I have lost more than 500K. I am looking for help, please.”
- “Until now Freewallet has not returned my funds, they still hold my funds.”
Our data suggests that over 2,000 clients have fallen victim to Freewallet’s scams. In response to user complaints, app store moderators have started to act, and as a result, Freewallet was removed from Google Play. However, this has not deterred the scammers.
FRWT wallet is the same scam!
The scammers have developed another app with a similar name, FRWT. It is essentially the same as Freewallet and employs the same fraudulent methods. According to our information, the service was founded by Russian citizen Dmitry Gunyashov. Originally from St. Petersburg, as of 2022, he was registered in Russia at the address: St. Petersburg, Engelsa Avenue, building 111, apartment 516. Meanwhile, Gunyashov’s Facebook page indicates that he resides in Portugal, with business connections leading to London, where the Cryptopay office is located at 8 Devonshire Square. Despite this, Gunyashov still uses the Russian phone number +79219965549 for communication.
We urge everyone affected by the original Freewallet application and its new version, FRWT, to file complaints and push for a complete shutdown of these services. However, even this might not help recover the stolen money.
Freewallet often lures newbies by posting enticing crypto news, price predictions, and tips for traders on its official blog. Be aware that these tactics are designed to attract unsuspecting victims. Never use Freewallet or FRWT. These apps are operated by scammers who will steal your money!