AI Idle Mining & Commission Scam: A Zero-Investment Dividend Ponzi Scheme Disguised as AI Computing Power / Proxy

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are primarily middle-aged part-time workers in tier-3 and tier-4 cities, stay-at-home mothers, retirees, and retail crypto/forex novices. They generally lack the ability to distinguish concepts like AI computing power and quantitative trading, yet are highly sensitive to zero-investment and passive income. Community scripts continuously reinforce herd mentality through real-name coin gifting, idle check-ins, and high-profit earnings screenshots, while utilizing 8-tier commissions to induce recruitment, creating sunk costs and a sense of organizational belonging among early users. Once a platform locks accounts, victims find themselves unable to seek recourse and afraid to report to the police.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Attract users to register using low-threshold hooks like zero-investment, real-name coin gifting, and AI lobster check-ins. Claiming the platform is connected to international computing power or quantitative engines, users can earn stable commissions daily simply by signing in and leaving their devices idle, establishing initial trust of zero risk and guaranteed returns.
• Step 2: Set up AI computing power packages or proxy node purchase areas within the app, guiding users to upgrade from free players to paying participants. Sales scripts emphasize that daily returns will multiply after upgrading, while creating a sense of urgency through early-bird pricing, limited nodes, and check-in rankings to accelerate deposit conversion.
• Step 3: Build a multi-tier commission system, typically structured from 6 to 8 tiers. Recruiting new users to deposit yields direct referral bonuses and team profit-sharing. By posting earnings screenshots and live broadcasting in communities, personal income is tied to team size, prompting users to spontaneously recruit others, manage groups, and maintain platform hype.
• Step 4: When users attempt to withdraw funds, the platform sets barriers such as requiring completed transaction volume tasks, unlocking computing power cards, paying service fees, or topping up ecosystem coin balances. Some platforms delay arrivals using excuses like system maintenance, on-chain congestion, or risk-control freezes, forcing users to continue reinvesting or adding more funds.
• Step 5: When revenue bubbles become unsustainable, operators fully lock down accounts, close withdrawal channels, and rapidly rebrand with new concepts to restart a new scheme. They funnel old users into the next AI computing or quantitative wealth management platform to execute cross-scheme laundering and secondary harvesting, ultimately absconding or transferring funds overseas.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming that zero-investment, idle mining, and check-ins yield stable commissions, with daily return rates significantly higher than mainstream financial products, involving promised returns that defy financial common sense.
• 🚩 Adopting typical hierarchical structures such as 6 to 8-tier commissions, head-hunting remuneration, and team profit-sharing, where reward sources rely primarily on new user deposits rather than real business revenue.
• 🚩 The platform claims to benchmark against renowned AI unicorns or international computing power suppliers, yet lacks public financing records and on-chain computing node proofs, with corporate entities mostly being shell companies or cross-border shells.
• 🚩 Withdrawals require completing transaction volume tasks, purchasing computing power cards, paying service fees, or supplementing ecosystem coin balances, alongside frequent delays justified by system maintenance, on-chain congestion, or risk-control freezes.
• 🚩 Massive earnings screenshots, shout-outs, and resurrection scripts in communities, with live streams repeatedly emphasizing urgency signals like early-bird nodes, check-in rankings, and imminent removal—characteristic rhythm control of a Ponzi scheme.

真实案例

• BuyerEx disguised itself with real-name coin gifting, AI lobster check-ins, and 8-tier commissions. It was warned by Project Home and First Code Home as a dividend Ponzi scheme using zero investment as bait. After operating for about two months, it was flagged as nearing danger with a high risk of collapse and running away.
• Criminal syndicates counterfeited VAST AI, an AI unicorn that recently secured about 1 billion yuan in financing, setting up a counterfeit Ponzi scheme to conduct pyramid-style promotion. Project Home noted that this had spread to multiple regions, warning users to watch out for overseas syndicates raising money under the guise of AI.
• In August 2026, the Zhongshengming quantitative AI wealth management scheme was formally placed on file and investigated by the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau Economic Crime Investigation Department after being completely locked and unable to process withdrawals. Promoted as AI quantitative stock trading with guaranteed daily profits, it registered over 3,200 victims across 30-plus rights-protection groups nationwide, with single-person losses reaching up to 2.6 million yuan and total estimated involvement exceeding 300 million yuan. Multiple out-of-town victims have already obtained case acceptance receipts. (Source: [https://www.bashou.cc/article/6151.html](https://www.bashou.cc/article/6151.html))
• In June 2023, the Anhui 'Metaverse Farm' game pyramid scheme collapsed and was cracked down upon. Project leader Shao Feng used online fruit tree planting promising 200% to 400% returns as bait. As of June 23, 2023, it had developed 10,140 members across 32 tiers nationwide involving hundreds of millions of yuan. The Economic Crime Investigation Department of the Xuancheng Public Security Bureau identified it as a head-hunting multi-tier rebate pyramid scheme, which was jointly exposed by CNR and the Ministry of Public Security's Economic Crime Investigation Bureau. (Source: [https://news.cnr.cn/dj/20250714/t20250714_527260920.shtml](https://news.cnr.cn/dj/20250714/t20250714_527260920.shtml))

Official Stance

• The Wuxi Public Security Bureau in Jiangsu Province publicly released 'Beware of Fraud Traps Behind the AI Lobster Farming Craze,' warning of illegal fundraising risks under the gimmick of AI farming and check-in rebates, and urging residents not to blindly trust high-return promises or deposit funds into unfamiliar platforms.
• People's Daily published 'Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Financial Activities Involving Virtual Currencies,' clarifying that virtual currency-related businesses constitute illegal financial activities and reminding the public to watch out for fundraising scams and pyramid schemes conducted in the name of virtual currencies, AI computing power, and quantitative trading.
• Zhuque Fund Management Co., Ltd. released 'Beware of Illegal Financial Activities Carried Out in the Name of Fake Stock Trading Software and AI Stock Trading,' pointing out that some platforms attract investments under gimmicks like AI stock trading and monthly returns exceeding 150%, posing risks of Ponzi schemes and stock-recommendation scams.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify platform qualifications and do not blindly trust promotions like zero-investment, idle mining, and check-in commissions. Prioritize checking official public channels of the Cyberspace Administration of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and public security organs to see if the platform holds corresponding licenses or filings.
• ✅ Be wary of multi-tier commission structures. If arrangements such as 6 to 8-tier commissions, head-hunting remuneration, and team profit-sharing appear, stop participating immediately and preserve evidence such as chat logs, transfer vouchers, and app screenshots.
• ✅ Decisively stop losses when facing withdrawal barriers. Do not continue adding funds based on scripts about unlocking computing power, topping up ecosystem coins, or paying service fees. Report to public security organs at the earliest opportunity when necessary and submit on-chain and bank transaction flow evidence.
• ✅ Pay attention to official anti-fraud warnings, obtain early warning information through the National Anti-Fraud Center app, local public security official accounts, and CSRC/CAC announcements. Actively report platforms masquerading as well-known AI companies to prevent secondary recruitment and cross-scheme harvesting.