Note: In this post, we are issuing a scam alert for CloudFaucet and FreeBitco.in, as they are operating extremely similar scams.

What is Freebitco.in?

Freebitco.in is an older cryptocurrency faucet that promises users free Bitcoin in exchange for tasks.

A cryptocurrency faucet operates like a tap dripping water (hence ‘faucet’). The faucet rewards users with small amounts of cryptocurrency in return for tasks. These small amounts are called “satoshi’s“, ans they had an original value of 0.000000001 BTC.

The name ‘Satoshi’ is based on the founder of Bitcoin – Satoshi Nakamoto.

Basically, cryptocurrency Faucet’s are a method of earning cryptocurrency without investing money upfront.

How does freebitco.in work?

Freebitco.in allows users to earn small amounts of bitcoin (satoshi’s) in three ways: the faucet, interest and through recruiting.

Every 17 hours, users are able to participate in the faucet. The faucet operates like a lottery. You roll (obviously the odds are stacked against you) and you are given a Satoshi.

Pretty straight forward.

Let’s talk about interest next.

Freebitco.in encourages users to deposit bitcoin onto the platform. In return, users are promised an annual return of 4.08% on their Bitcoin.

So what’s the point of this?

While this seems like a play to get people invested in the website, it seems to be actual theft. Here are some reviews from some very unhappy customers.

Finally, let’s talk about referrals.

Like the numerous schemes covered on The Snapping Point (like TRONex, for example) the scam needs to bring more people in, and fast.

Scam websites don’t tend to last long online. Instead, their owners have to draw in as many people as quickly as possible. This is why we see so much recruiting on scam websites.

Freebitco.in pays the commission in the weirdest way possible: on the amount your victim earns in the lottery.

At this point, you might be curious who runs freebitco.in. No one has taken credit for the website, but this is what we know from the whois information:

• Freebitco.in was founded on the 10th of October 2013.
• The website is running through Cloudflare servers and was registered from eNom.com.
• The owner of the website also owned three other websites, one of which is steffenthiel.com. That website now redirects to Freebitco.in.

Of course, talking about Freebitco.in, that brings me to a newer website many unhappy users are jumping to: CloudFaucet.

What is CloudFaucet?

CloudFaucet is a new cryptocurrency faucet running through ‘cloudfaucet.io‘. It is operating based on the same principles as Freebitco.in, with some small changes.

How does CloudFaucet work?

CloudFaucet claims that users who participate in the faucet receive a Satoshi every 45 minutes, as long as they click the “claim” button on the platform. You can see that claim in the image above.

But what really happens behind the scenes if you join Cloudfaucet.io?

Let’s take a look.

The back end of Cloud Faucet allows you to do four things, including participating in the faucet, refer other members, withdrawing and donating.

When you select ‘the faucet’, you are prompted to choose a currency. The, you click a captcha and are given your Satoshi. CloudFaucet currently promise their users four currencies:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Dogecoin

Then, you must wait 45 minutes before you are eligible to collect the next Satoshi.

You can see this below:

You are also able to earn extra income from referring other people. For each person you recruit, you earn 20% of “what they earn from the faucet for life”.

CloudFaucet also encourages you to withdraw your currency’s once you have connected your Bitcoin wallet (which probably isn’t a good idea tbh).

There is no actual way to withdraw funds, however, as there is no active link on the ‘withdraw’ page.

The platform is also soliciting money from users through the ‘donation’ button. In this screen, you are greeted by a thank you from “Satoshi Nakamoto”, which is an alias of the original creator of Bitcoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto has not been involved publicly in Bitcoin since 2011, so he definitely didn’t create this website.

So who did?

For now, the creator of CloudFaucet is unknown, but here is what we do know from whois:

• The website was founded on the 18th of August 2020.
• The website is running on Cloudflare and was registered through NameCheap.
• The owner of the website has not connected their bitcoin wallet to the site – as seen through verifying the wallet details from the ‘donate’ page.

I don’t believe that the two websites are owned by the same person, but CloudFaucet is clearly designed to take Freebitco.in’s unhappy customers.

Of course, all this brings us to the golden question:

Are CloudFaucet and Freebitco.in scams?

Both websites are operating pretty strange operations, and ultimately, I think both qualify as scams.

While this scam isn’t as insidious and blatant as a Ponzi Scheme like Naisos, or as cruel as “universal income scam” ZoloUs, the owner is use deception to take your hard-earned money.

Let me explain.

Cryptocurrency faucets are not a charity, they are designed as marketing for the coin.

When they aren’t acting as marketing for the coin, they are for-profit only.

Both of these websites make money the same way. They charge extortionate transaction fees, they solicit donations and they (sometimes) blatantly steal money you deposit onto the platform.

This is a scam, and it’s not okay.

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