Since the beginning of November 2024, the online scam barrickchs.com has been posing as the legitimate Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation.
This elaborate scam is trying to lure investors by using Barrick’s real projects—like the Lumwana Copper Mine Super Pit Expansion in Zambia—as bait. Here’s what’s really going on with this sham.
The Premise: Using Barrick’s Name and Reputation
The scam starts with a convincing veneer. The barrickchs.com site looks polished and uses a logo that almost perfectly mirrors Barrick Gold’s branding.
For anyone not paying close attention, the website may seem credible. But let’s be clear: barrickchs or barrickchs.com is not registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in South Africa, nor is it authorised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to offer any form of financial service.
There is no legitimate “Barrickchs” entity associated with the real Barrick Gold, which is based in Toronto and has a legal, registered office in Melrose Estate, Johannesburg.
The Tactics: Promising Big Returns with “Mining Investments”
- Identity Theft:
- barrickchs.com uses Barrick’s logo, branding, and even its current projects to draw in victims. They promote the real Lumwana Copper Mine expansion project to lend credibility. But let’s be clear: the real Barrick has nothing to do with this scam.
- Lack of Regulatory Compliance:
- The site isn’t registered with any South African authority, which means it has zero rights to offer investment products. barrickchs.com has no more legitimacy than a pop-up store on the side of the road.
- Aggressive Marketing and Fake Testimonials:
- Social media posts from so-called “investors” showcase fake screenshots of successful withdrawals. These posts aim to lure in new victims by showing supposed returns on investments. Early adopters and promoters flood Facebook with these posts, hoping to draw in more victims before the scheme collapses.
- The Chinese Connection:
- When attempting to access non-existent pages, barrickchs.com returns a 404 error message in Chinese, along with a footer linking to a Chinese Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider, 01dun.com. This is a classic sign of a Chinese-based scam backend, commonly used in similar operations to quickly set up and dismantle fraudulent sites.
- Following the Playbook of the Northam Scam:
- This scam mirrors the recent Northam mining scam (app.northam-online.com), which collapsed in October 2024. Like barrickchs, Northam also used mining projects to draw in “investors” with promises of substantial returns. As the holiday season approaches, expect a flurry of these scams, all with similar structures and false promises.
The Bait: Real Projects as a Front for Fake Investments
One tactic observed here is the use of real projects—specifically, the Lumwana Copper Mine Super Pit Expansion. Barrick Gold recently launched this $2 billion project, which has nothing to do with barrickchs.com.
The scammers are exploiting a genuine mining venture to make the scheme look authentic. This adds a layer of sophistication, making it harder for people to recognise the fraud immediately.
Bottom Line: Barrickchs Isn’t Barrick Gold
barrickchs.com is a scam, plain and simple. It’s banking on the reputation of a legitimate mining company to trick unsuspecting individuals out of their money.
As the festive season nears, more scams like this are likely to surface, promising quick returns.
