AI Computing Cloud Rental Mining Scam: Disappearing with Funds After Collecting Rent

Who Gets Targeted

The targeted victims mainly fall into three categories: first, small and medium-sized investors interested in AI technology but lacking professional discernment, eager to cash in on the AI boom; second, ordinary netizens and middle-aged/elderly individuals with some savings who seek passive income and effortless earnings; and third, groups who have previously participated in cryptocurrency mining. These individuals generally share traits such as greed for high returns, gullibility toward so-called "official endorsements" or "expert backing," and weak risk awareness. They easily fall for the inflated high-yield promises made by fraudsters and lack basic understanding of computing power leasing and mining models, ultimately falling into the trap.

骗局怎么运作

• Fraudsters first set up fake AI computing power rental platforms or publish promotional content on social media and short-video platforms, claiming to own top-tier overseas AI computing clusters. Renting computing power allegedly allows participation in AI model training and cryptocurrency mining, with daily returns reaching 5% to 15%, far exceeding ordinary financial products. Tactics include phrases like "The state supports AI development; follow the policy to make a guaranteed profit" and "Zero barrier, no technical knowledge needed, buy computing power to earn passively." They also forge cooperation endorsements with well-known tech companies, fabricate photos of computing cluster arrays, and fake backend earnings data to attract user attention.
• After catching users' attention, fraudsters use tactics such as "limited-time offers," "exclusive high returns for new users," and "limited quotas" to induce users to pay for computing power rentals. Rental periods range from half a month to a year, with fees ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands. They claim that "the longer you rent, the higher the returns," promising to return the principal plus high returns upon maturity. Some even require users to recruit new members in order to withdraw funds, inducing users to build downlines.
• Once users pay, the platform fakes a few days of earnings data to make users see the balance in their accounts growing. When users attempt to withdraw small amounts, the platform delays the process using excuses like "system maintenance," "transaction fees required," or "designated tasks must be completed," while simultaneously enticing users to add investments and recruit more downlines. Tactics include: "Look, your earnings are all growing; withdrawing now is a huge loss, invest one more round and it will double," and "The more people you recruit, the lower your computing power rental fee and the higher your returns."
• After the collected funds reach a certain scale, the fraudsters directly shut down the platform, disband social media groups, and cut off all contact channels. Users not only fail to withdraw funds, but even the platform entry points disappear. Some even misappropriate users' personal information for subsequent scams. All previously promised computing power and mining returns vanish into thin air, and users lose their entire principal.
• After running away for a period of time, some fraudsters change the project name and package new AI concepts, such as "AI large model training computing power" or "AI drawing computing power rental," to relaunch fake projects and continue harvesting new investors. Because most of these operations are overseas, tracing them is extremely difficult.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming to rent AI computing power for mining or model training with a daily return rate exceeding 3%. Normal computing power rental returns are far below this level, making this exaggerated and false propaganda.
• 🚩 Demanding upfront payment before participation, lacking formal computing power rental contracts or deployment proofs, and failing to provide an accessible backend for actual computing power usage indicate a fake project.
• 🚩 Using the recruitment of new users and development of downlines as a condition for withdrawal or higher returns exhibits multi-level marketing characteristics and is illegal.
• 🚩 Platforms lacking formal business registration and financial qualifications, operating on overseas servers, and untraceable to a real operating entity belong to unqualified and fake platforms.
• 🚩 Always using various excuses during withdrawal to demand advance payment of fees or deposits before funds can be released is a typical scam tactic aimed at further swindling user funds.

真实案例

• In 2025, Project Home (xiangmuzhijia.com) exposed the "Bit Harbor" scam in depth: Mr. Wang first recharged 100,000 RMB to subscribe to 5 "cloud miners," and after getting a taste of success, added 200,000 RMB and brought his younger brother into the scheme. In early April, the platform issued a "system upgrade notice," after which the app became inaccessible and the official website was shut down, leaving the brothers with a total loss of 300,000 RMB in principal. According to Shandong police case briefings and rights-protection group statistics, the scam affected 31 provinces nationwide with over 30,000 victims, involving an estimated conservative amount of 1.2 billion RMB. The so-called "10,000-machine mining farm" only contained 3 rented second-hand mining machines. (Source: [https://xmzhjia.com/article/2330.html](https://xmzhjia.com/article/2330.html))
• On April 22, 2026, CNA reported that the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau cracked down on a "Mining Accelerator" fund-raising scam: 12 suspects were arrested, and 10 victims had already reported being tricked into believing the "Mining Accelerator" could generate passive profits, investing huge sums of money. Total known financial losses exceeded 5 million New Taiwan Dollars. (Source: [https://www.cna.com.tw/news/asoc/202604220226.aspx](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/asoc/202604220226.aspx))
• In 2026, Yicha Network exposed the collapse of the Lianhe Intelligent Computing Center hosting dividend Ponzi scheme: it had about 110,000 members, and the operators pocketed over 100 million RMB. The platform lured victims with a one-time rental of 60,000 RMB for the usage rights of a single server, promising a final return of 120,000 RMB after a 17-month rental period. Victims exposed that withdrawal channels were closed and funds could no longer be withdrawn; rights protection is currently underway. (Source: [https://panxun.vwt.cc/article/6474.html](https://panxun.vwt.cc/article/6474.html))

Official Stance

• In October 2024, the Cyberspace Administration of China reported the crackdown on the website "4stoken.cn," which was suspected of illegal operation of AI large model API interfaces and engaged in fraud under the guise of AI computing power rentals. It has been shut down in accordance with the law.
• In April 2025, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Taiwan issued an urgent warning pointing out that multiple fraud cases impersonating AI computing power rental mining had recently emerged. Most victims were ordinary citizens wanting to make quick money; the public was urged not to believe high-yield promotions.
• In May 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a risk warning regarding illegal fund-raising scams in the name of AI computing power and cryptocurrency mining, reminding investors to stay away from fake projects promising high returns and avoid property losses.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before participating in investments such as computing power rentals, be sure to check the business registration information and financial qualifications of the operating entity through official channels, confirm the authenticity of the computing power cluster, and require the other party to provide proof of actual computing power deployment and an accessible usage backend. Do not participate if these cannot be provided.
• ✅ Do not believe exaggerated promotions such as "daily return rates exceeding 3%" or "zero-risk passive income." All investments carry risks, and the actual returns of AI computing power rentals are far lower than fraudsters claim; high returns inevitably come with high risks.
• ✅ Refuse to participate in projects that require recruiting new users and building downlines to earn returns. Such models match the characteristics of multi-level marketing and are illegal. They not only cause financial losses but may also entail legal liability.
• ✅ If you discover that a platform delays withdrawals under various excuses or demands upfront fees before allowing withdrawals, preserve chat logs, transfer receipts, and other evidence immediately, and report the case to public security organs to prevent losses from expanding.