Fake AI Crayfish Farming Project: A Scam Involving Automated Farming Claims and Franchise Fee Fraud

Who Gets Targeted

The victims are primarily small and medium-sized farmers, young entrepreneurs returning to rural areas, and residents in lower-tier markets seeking side income who are eager to increase yields through technology but lack the ability to verify AI claims. They are often psychologically predisposed to believe that high-tech equals high returns. They are targeted by exaggerated marketing claims such as 'fully automated, no labor required, and guaranteed buy-back,' and are easily lured into paying for shell projects disguised as high-tech ventures, ultimately losing their investments.

骗局怎么运作

• Packaging the Concept: Operating under the banner of smart fisheries, scammers claim to have developed an 'AI Crayfish Smart Butler.' They use forged demonstration videos and PPTs showing automated feeding, water quality monitoring, and disease warning functions, claiming to increase yields several times over with zero human supervision, exploiting farmers' unfamiliarity with AI and their desire for quick wealth.
• Free Lead Generation: Scammers post numerous high-yield aquaculture videos and ads on short-video platforms, offering free trial seedlings and technical guidance. When farmers inquire, customer service agents pitch the 'AI fully managed farming model' and lure them to visit so-called aquaculture bases.
• Staged Visits: Victims are taken to temporarily set-up farms where actors pose as successful farmers to share 'experiences.' They display a 'smart monitoring dashboard' that is actually a pre-programmed web animation. By creating a sense of urgency through claims of limited spots and government subsidies, they pressure farmers into signing high-priced franchise contracts on the spot.
• High-Priced Harvesting: After collecting tens of thousands of yuan in franchise fees, equipment costs, and AI service fees, they send only cheap water quality testers and generic farming manuals. The promised smart equipment cannot connect to the internet or function, and there is no follow-up technical support, leaving farmers with useless scrap metal.
• Evasion and Disappearance: When victims discover the equipment is ineffective and demand a refund, customer service agents initially stall with excuses like 'system upgrades' or 'water quality issues,' then block the victims. The so-called tech company vanishes, only to relocate and rebrand to continue the scam, leaving farmers with no way to recover their significant investments.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Absolutist claims such as 'zero human supervision' and 'fully automated passive income' that contradict the realities and common sense of aquaculture.
• 🚩 Frequent mentions of government special subsidies and key support projects in promotional materials, yet failing to provide any official documents or registration proof from agricultural departments.
• 🚩 Demanding high franchise fees or specific AI equipment procurement costs that far exceed the fair market price of standard aquaculture equipment.
• 🚩 The AI equipment sold is inferior, lacking product certification, manufacturer contact information, or brand identification.
• 🚩 The contract signed is not a standard agricultural promotion agreement but a membership agreement disguised as technical service and franchising, deliberately designed to evade liability for farming failures.

真实案例

• According to Project Home, a project called 'Crayfish AI' claimed to use artificial intelligence for fully automated farming. Multiple investigations revealed that its five core technologies could not be verified and there were no successful real-world cases, identifying it as a scam designed to harvest franchise fees from farmers.
• The Wuxi government official website issued a warning, pointing out that a scam trap disguised as an 'AI crayfish farming boom' has recently emerged. Criminals fabricated automated farming projects to lure farmers into investing, causing some to lose tens of thousands of yuan.
• CCTV's legal report revealed that some criminals are using new 'digital transformation' disguises, packaging traditional pyramid schemes and franchise scams as smart agricultural projects. These cases often involve collecting fees for high-tech farming before the perpetrators vanish, leaving farmers in multiple regions with no recourse to recover their losses.

Official Stance

• The Wuxi government official website issued a warning on April 7, 2026, explicitly cautioning against the scam traps behind the AI crayfish farming boom and advising farmers to be wary of such so-called automated agricultural projects.
• CCTV's Legal China channel warned in a 2026 legal education report to be vigilant against new types of agricultural fraud using high-tech names like digital transformation and AI agriculture, and to avoid paying franchise fees blindly.
• Anti-fraud centers and relevant internet information departments in various regions have repeatedly warned that any project claiming to be an agricultural AI project that charges high franchise fees, promises high returns, and lacks actual technical verification is suspected of fraud.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify Qualifications: When encountering such AI agricultural projects, first verify with the local Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau or Aquaculture Technology Extension Station whether the project is officially registered, and check the actual operating qualifications of the company.
• ✅ Reject High Franchise Fees: Maintain high vigilance against smart farming projects that require large upfront franchise or equipment fees. Do not trust verbal promises of 'buy-backs' or 'guaranteed yields,' and insist on seeing technical effectiveness first.
• ✅ Conduct On-Site Verification: Do not trust polished promotional videos or on-site dashboards. Demand to visit non-demonstration farms where the equipment is actually in use and communicate directly with long-term users.
• ✅ Standardize Contract Terms: Ensure that profit promises and technical after-sales standards are explicitly written into the paper contract. Refuse to sign standardized membership agreements with excessive liability waivers, and seek professional legal advice if necessary.
• ✅ Preserve Evidence for Rights Protection: Once you discover that a project has fabricated technology or failed to provide services as promised, stop further payments immediately. Save contracts, transfer records, and chat screenshots, and report the case to the public security department promptly to recover losses.