Unlicensed AI Quantitative Stock Trading Platform Scam: Virtual Trading Desk Faking Backend Numbers, Funds Flowing into Shell Private Accounts

Who Gets Targeted

The victims are primarily middle-aged and young retail investors in Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 cities with some savings, mostly aged 30 to 55, who have experienced losses in stock trading and are eager to find an alternative solution for passive income. Their psychological weakness is becoming superstitious about AI capabilities after being repeatedly bombarded by big model buzzwords, while simultaneously experiencing herd mentality anxiety manufactured by massive profit screenshots posted by actors in WeChat groups, fearing they will miss out on the trend. After making small initial deposits and seeing the numbers in their accounts rise, they increase their investments and draw in family and friends, forming a word-of-mouth spread. Ultimately, during the withdrawal stage, they are blocked under reasons such as lock-up periods, account audits, and paying unfreezing fees, losing everything.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Short-video platforms push traffic-driving content, claiming to be AI stock trading mentors or quantitative teams, attracting clicks with hook headlines like 'AI makes tens of thousands wildly' and 'automatic money counting'. Shills are arranged in the comment section to interact and create a sense of authenticity, guiding users to add WeChat or private messages.
• Step 2: Users are pulled into so-called live combat groups or trial groups. A large number of actors in the group post profit screenshots daily, and the lecturer hypes that their AI quantitative system has a winning rate of over 90% and doubles monthly returns, allowing victims to use virtual accounts for free for a few days to build complete trust.
• Step 3: Users are guided to download a self-built trading app and make small deposits to test the waters. The profits displayed in the victim's account are actually artificially modified numbers in the backend. The platform is a purely virtual trading desk with no real securities transactions taking place. In the initial stage, even small withdrawals are permitted to eliminate suspicion.
• Step 4: Under the guise of opening VIP copy-trading services, upgrading strategy channels, or locking in high-yield positions, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan in service fees and additional funds are collected. At the same time, old members are encouraged to recruit new ones for commissions, forming a multi-level marketing-style viral fission.
• Step 5: After the capital pool grows large, excuses such as system upgrades, market liquidation, and regulatory checks are manufactured to freeze withdrawals, demanding unfreezing fees or position top-ups. Subsequently, the platform closes its website and runs away. Funds are transferred through multiple layers of shell companies and ultimately flow into private accounts, with operators suspected of fund-raising fraud.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 The platform claims high return promises that exceed normal market levels, such as AI quantitative stock selection, a winning rate of over 90%, and doubled monthly returns
• 🚩 The operating entity has no securities investment consulting, futures, or asset management licenses, and entering the company name in the CSRC filing system yields no results
• 🚩 Funds are required to be deposited into the platform's self-built app rather than regular third-party custodian accounts of securities companies
• 🚩 Profits are only displayed within the platform app after depositing, with smooth small withdrawals in the early stage and large withdrawals blocked by various excuses
• 🚩 Multi-level marketing fission pitches appear, such as recruiting members for commissions, team battles, and locked positions
• 🚩 There are a large number of anonymous members in the group concentrating on posting high profit screenshots with highly synchronized pacing
• 🚩 Customer service or mentors repeatedly emphasize not telling family members or consulting securities companies, which is a typical isolation tactic

真实案例

• An anti-fraud warning report in July 2026 disclosed: Wuhan Baiyu Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. operated the Baiyu Quantitative platform without any securities investment asset management financial licenses. The so-called AI quantitative stock trading system was actually a virtual trading desk with no real stock buying and selling throughout. Funds were transferred into multiple shell company accounts and private accounts, and in January 2026, Wuhan police officially filed a criminal investigation on suspicion of fund-raising fraud.
• Financial 315 themed report in March 2026: An investor complained that a certain AI stock trading platform claimed monthly returns exceeding 150%. The interviewee stated that the so-called quantitative trading was likely a virtual desk with no real stock trading behavior occurring, and the profits in the account were merely numbers modified in the backend, while the platform also featured word-of-mouth fission promotion.
• A media report in September 2026 pointed to the Xingying Quantitative Intelligent AI Copy-Trading Scam: The platform has no compliant financial license and is not connected to the real securities trading market. The market trends, transaction records, and account balances seen by users on the app are all virtual numbers artificially tampered with in the backend, and the platform sets up a progressive harvesting routine (if the platform party has objections, it is subject to judicial determination).
• Media live-test report in June 2026: A short-video platform blogger published content about AI wildly making 50k and automatic money counting modes, claiming to set up 6 AI fully automated stock trading teams in 6 hours. When reporters tested the related tools, they found they could not directly access real-time market data, which severely contradicted the publicity.
• In May 2025, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court made a final ruling on the illegal stock recommendation case involving robotic stock trading quantitative software. The implicated company had no securities qualifications yet promoted stock-trading robot value-added services to clients and collected fees, making a profit of 30 million yuan, with the main perpetrator sentenced to 7 years and 9 months. (Source: [https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-06-06/doc-inezcvrz7219889.shtml](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-06-06/doc-inezcvrz7219889.shtml))
• In April 2021, Jiangxi Dingnan police cracked a fake stock trading platform scam. Victims deposited over 2 million yuan into two fake trading software under the guidance of so-called master teachers but were unable to withdraw, ultimately losing 2.88 million yuan. Police arrested 18 suspects across provinces. (Source: [https://m.news.cctv.com/2021/04/18/ARTIkzuwllP3N45Oid6IxUTu210418.shtml](https://m.news.cctv.com/2021/04/18/ARTIkzuwllP3N45Oid6IxUTu210418.shtml))

Official Stance

• On January 30, 2026, the Jiangsu Regulatory Bureau issued a risk warning regarding illegal financial activities carried out under the guise of AI stock trading, calling out methods of packaging illegal services using concepts like AI stock picking, big data stock diagnosis, and quantitative trading to induce payments for so-called high-tech software.
• In January 2026, Wuhan police officially filed a criminal investigation into the Baiyu Quantitative platform, determining that the platform operators were suspected of the crime of fund-raising fraud (disclosed in a July 2026 Anti-Fraud Warning Window report).
• In March 2026, the financial media's Financial 315 column conducted a special in-depth expose on the scam routine of AI stock trading monthly returns exceeding 150% quantitative fund schemes and issued a risk early warning.
• The CSRC system has long reminded investors that recommending stocks to unspecified objects and charging service fees must obtain securities investment consulting business qualifications, and unlicensed stock recommendations and return promises are both violations.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before making payments, check the CSRC official website directory of institutions to see if the operating entity holds securities investment consulting or asset management licenses; abandon it if unlicensed
• ✅ Verify whether trading funds enter regular third-party custodian accounts of securities companies. Immediately stop if asked to transfer money to app balances, unfamiliar corporate accounts, or private accounts
• ✅ Maintain skepticism toward real-time market trends and profit screenshots displayed within the app, compare market trends using official broker apps, and test exit channels with small withdrawals before committing large funds
• ✅ Never download APK installation packages from unknown sources, and do not leak ID cards, bank cards, or SMS verification codes under the inducement of group links
• ✅ Immediately stop adding funds and preserve chat records and transfer vouchers to report to public security organs when encountering obstacles to withdrawal under reasons like unfreezing fees, margin, or lock-ups
• ✅ Stock trading groups that claim steady profits without loss, a 90% win rate, or recruitment commissions can be reported directly via the 12386 hotline or the National Anti-Fraud Center App