Fake Large Model Cryptocurrency Arbitrage Scam: Impersonating Well-Known AI Brands to Issue Tokens and Defraud Investors

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are primarily ordinary investors who are full of curiosity about artificial intelligence technology but lack fundamental understanding, owners of idle funds seeking high-yield wealth management, and some retail investors in the cryptocurrency circle. Upon seeing well-known large model brands, they blindly trust their technological strength, harboring psychological blind obedience to authorities and anxiety over missing out on the AI wealth dividend. Unable to distinguish the authenticity of the underlying technology from the financial Ponzi essence, they ultimately fall victim to a tax on intelligence driven by the fantasy that 'computing power arbitrage is a guaranteed profit without loss.'

骗局怎么运作

• Misappropriating Well-Known Brand Endorsements: Fraud syndicates register names and trademarks in communities and sketchy websites that are extremely similar to well-known artificial intelligence enterprises, falsely claiming to be partner institutions or directly impersonating their brand names. They utilize the technical halo of real AI large models to lower victims' vigilance and forge various qualification documents and media reports to enhance credibility.
• Packaging the AI Quantitative Arbitrage Concept: Fraud syndicates boast about possessing quantitative trading systems or automated arbitrage robots developed based on top large models, claiming to capture millisecond-level price differences in the cryptocurrency market around the clock. They promise stable monthly returns of 15% or even higher, packaging complex AI concepts into brainless passive income wealth management tools to attract public attention.
• Community Traffic Guidance and Brainwashing: False earnings screenshots and stories of getting rich overnight are published in major communities and short video platforms. They invite so-called lecturers to lecture on AI investment trends in private live broadcast rooms, using back-end forged real-time profit data displays to lure victims into the trap, while arranging internet water armies to create a hot atmosphere of community members following suit to invest.
• Inducing Top-Up and Lock-Up: Victims are required to download specific mobile apps or go to sketchy exchanges to register, complete real-name authentication, and top up funds. Small withdrawals are initially allowed to build trust, followed by inducing large top-ups and setting withdrawal thresholds under the pretext of upgrading computing power or participating in large-scale arbitrage plans, and even launching multi-tier commission models (such as up to eight generations) to deeply lock up funds.
• Manipulating Crashes and Running Away: When the fund pool scale reaches preset targets or newly added funds cannot cover the promised high interest rates, fraud syndicates stop withdrawals through excuses such as pulling network cables, restricting logins, and fabricating hacker attacks, and ultimately disband communities and destroy evidence to complete their escape, leaving victims with total financial loss.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Forcibly binding to well-known major corporations or AI unicorn brands, with names often using typos or adding suffixes (such as 'Zhipu' replaced with alternatives), with no such financing project found on official channels.
• 🚩 Claiming to have automated arbitrage quantitative robots developed based on large models, promising users high and fluctuation-free principal-and-interest-guaranteed returns of over 15% monthly, which violates objective financial laws.
• 🚩 Adopting a high-commission referral design in the model (such as eight-tier commission rebates), where the underlying assets and computing power are completely unverifiable, and the Ponzi characteristics of using new funds to pay old ones are extremely obvious.
• 🚩 Requiring funds to be transferred into unverified personal accounts, sketchy exchange wallets, or mobile applications downloaded via specific promotion links, with deposits recognized blindly regardless of user identity.
• 🚩 Frequently obstructing withdrawals in the later stages using absurd excuses such as system upgrades, hacker attacks, and paying unfreezing security deposits, while pressuring victims to continue recruiting newcomers to 'unfreeze' their account funds.

真实案例

• According to public reports by Chapanwang, a project named 'China Zhipu AI' wrapped itself in the skin of a well-known AI enterprise, attracting investment under the guise of illegal cryptocurrency speculation and AI quantitative arbitrage while claiming high returns. Multiple verifications proved it to be a completely fake AI project, which repeatedly harvested ordinary investors' intelligence tax through a fund pool cycle, causing massive losses to individuals.
• According to disclosures by Shouma Alliance, the 'OneAgent Hermit Crab' project claimed to engage in AI quantitative cryptocurrency trading. The syndicate operated as a restructured shell of the formerjubi exchange, attracting members under the guise of AI automated arbitrage and an 8-tier commission model, and ultimately crashing and running away by restricting withdrawals under various pretexts.
• Media exposed the fake VAST.AI fund scheme case, where an overseas-registered shell syndicate impersonated an AI unicorn that had just secured 1 billion in financing to conduct pyramid schemes. Under the banner of intelligent computing center hosting and AI computing power dividends, they deceived the public into investing through forged official documents, with victims reported in multiple regions and a huge amount of money involved. (Source: [https://www.paiu.cn/article/7924.html](https://www.paiu.cn/article/7924.html))
• In January 2026, multiple regional anti-fraud centers and Project Home issued warnings: the fake VAST.AI fund scheme impersonated the recently financed 1 billion yuan AI unicorn to engage in pyramid schemes, spreading across various regions to absorb funds under the guise of AI computing power investment. Investors in multiple places have reported cases, with involved amounts reaching tens of millions of yuan. (Source: [https://www.paiu.cn/article/7924.html](https://www.paiu.cn/article/7924.html))
• The fake AI project Qiyuan AI absorbed funds through daily returns and USDT top-up models, shutting down its website and running away in March 2026 with involved funds exceeding 50 million yuan. The leaders of the syndicate have been placed on file for criminal investigation by local police. The platform spread across multiple locations under the name of AI computing power, leaving investors struggling to withdraw cash and losing everything, prompting regulatory authorities to warn against fake AI fund schemes. (Source: [https://chapan.cc/article/8503.html](https://chapan.cc/article/8503.html))

Official Stance

• CCTV Net Law and Order Online reported in June 2026 and published 'Putting on a New Cloak of Digital Transformation, Pyramid Scheme Fraud Unrepentant and Resorting to Old Tricks', clearly warning of the risks of new illegal fundraising and pyramid scheme activities carried out under the guise of AI computing power and calling on the public to resist them.
• Eight departments jointly issued the 'Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks Related to Cryptocurrency Speculation', reiterating that cryptocurrency-related business activities are illegal financial activities, and warning that the risks of speculating on cryptocurrencies using technological concepts such as 'AI' cannot be ignored.
• The Cyberspace Administration of China issued a notice on investigating and penalizing illegal websites suspected of operating AI large model interfaces in violation of regulations, warning that any fake platforms falsely borrowing the name of AI for illegal operations will inevitably face severe legal punishment, and investors should stay away from unverified docking platforms.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Cross-Verify Enterprise Identity: For any wealth management or token-issuing project featuring well-known AI enterprise endorsements, be sure to go to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System or official websites to verify its registration information and affiliation, and do not blindly trust community marketing rhetoric.
• ✅ Beware of High-Yield Promises: Maintain a zero-tolerance attitude toward any principal-and-interest-guaranteed promises with monthly returns stable above 10%, keep firmly in mind the iron law that 'the higher the return, the greater the risk', and refuse to be blinded by false AI concepts.
• ✅ Refuse Private Transfers: Never download mobile applications of unknown origin, never transfer funds to personal accounts or unofficially published virtual addresses, and conduct business operations only through regularly licensed financial institutions or official large model platforms.
• ✅ Identify the Pyramid Scheme Essence: Before investing, check whether there is truly an open-source or public beta service for the project, avoid blindly paying for black-box computing power, and report the platform immediately to the anti-fraud center when encountering multi-tier commission and user-recruitment models.