VAST.AI Fake AI Crypto Investment Scam: High Returns Mislead Hundreds of Thousands of Investors

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are predominantly small and medium-sized retail investors and those seeking steady asset appreciation. Lacking professional knowledge of AI technology, they are easily driven by anxiety fueled by promotions boasting 'annualized returns as high as 30%' and profit charts in online communities, leading them to rush into investments. Platforms use single-letter crypto wallet addresses and QR codes to collect funds, relying on community bots to fabricate 'AI algorithm endorsements' and team member certificates. Typical losses involve principal: withdrawals are flagged as 'technical maintenance' requiring additional deposits to unlock, and funds are ultimately routed to overseas accounts, leaving investors with total financial ruin.

骗局怎么运作

• Launched a 'VAST.AI' official homepage, claiming to utilize AI algorithms for high-frequency trading in cryptocurrency DeFi, promising annualized returns of up to 30%.
• Engineered detailed personas through community bots, drafting 'AI algorithm endorsements' accompanied by certificate photos of team members to manufacture a professional atmosphere.
• Established single-letter crypto wallet addresses, encouraging investors to scan QR codes to deposit funds. Each deposit is logged with 'dividend records' and visualized profit charts to entice reinvestment.
• After investors actually deposit funds, continuously announced that 'dividends have arrived' without providing genuine accounts, keeping only internal ledgers before transferring funds to overseas accounts.
• Finally, exploiting fake identities of 'masterminds' and 'regulators', claimed the project was suspended and withdrawals were restricted, inducing investors to inject new capital for 'platform rights protection'.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Promoted annualized yields far exceeding market averages and completely disconnected from actual crypto market volatility.
• 🚩 Official claims of possessing exclusive AI algorithms without disclosing any technical whitepapers or third-party verification.
• 🚩 High-frequency social media marketing inciting hasty investments under slogans like 'stay one step ahead' and 'limited-time grab'.
• 🚩 No unified withdrawal channel after investing; once a withdrawal is flagged as 'technical maintenance', additional deposits are required to unlock.
• 🚩 Platforms use newly created or mimicking domain names, with filing information inconsistent with the official company.

真实案例

• VAST.AI Fake AI Ponzi Scheme
• CoinShares Imposter Investment Scheme
• ZhongShengMing Quantitative AI Wealth Scheme
• In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the lead trader of the cryptocurrency platform EmpiresX pleaded guilty: the platform claimed to use trading bots combining 'artificial intelligence and human oversight' to generate 'guaranteed returns' for investors, which was actually a Ponzi scheme paying older investors with money from newer ones, involving approximately $100 million. (Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20230530235709id_/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/empiresx-head-trader-pleads-guilty-global-cryptocurrency-investment-fraud-scheme-amassed](https://web.archive.org/web/20230530235709id_/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/empiresx-head-trader-pleads-guilty-global-cryptocurrency-investment-fraud-scheme-amassed))
• In December 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged three fake crypto asset trading platforms (Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co. Ltd., Cirkor Inc.) and four 'investment clubs' (AI Wealth Inc., Lane Wealth Inc., AI Investment Education Foundation Ltd., etc.): they first gained retail investors' trust in WhatsApp groups using 'AI-generated investment advice', then lured them to deposit into fictitious crypto trading platforms, swindling over $14 million in total. (Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20260903080329id_/https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-144-sec-charges-three-purported-crypto-asset-trading-platforms-four-investment-clubs-scheme-targeted](https://web.archive.org/web/20260903080329id_/https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-144-sec-charges-three-purported-crypto-asset-trading-platforms-four-investment-clubs-scheme-targeted))

Official Stance

• 2026-05-19
• 2026-06-01
• 2026-06-12

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ 1. Verify platform qualifications: Confirm whether company registration information and business licenses are complete via official filing websites.
• ✅ 2. Review technical disclosures: Request the platform to provide complete technical whitepapers and algorithm implementation details, and have a third-party security team conduct evaluations.
• ✅ 3. Monitor capital flows: Check for traceable blockchain transaction records and avoid one-way remittances to anonymous addresses.
• ✅ 4. Establish a withdrawal mechanism: Test the withdrawal function with small amounts first, and confirm that withdrawal channels match official platform announcements before making large investments.