Honest Mining AI Cloud——Using the AI Cloud Mining Guise to Absorb BTC/ETH, Requiring New User Recruitment for Withdrawals

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are mostly ordinary investors aged 25 to 45 who hold a small amount of cryptocurrency but lack mining equipment and operations experience, particularly concentrated in tier-3 and tier-4 cities as well as Southeast Asian Chinese communities. They have a vague fondness for AI technology, believe in the narrative of getting rich quick through coin speculation, yet do not understand real mining costs and computing power verification methods. Psychological weaknesses include aversion to missing out, superstition regarding technological packaging, and the desire to quickly break even through passive income. Platforms first provide small returns to create a sense of certainty, and then use withdrawal freezes and recruitment unlocks to create sunk costs, forcing users to actively develop friends and family downlines in order to get their principal back.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Launch high-simulation advertisements. The platform places ads on Telegram, WhatsApp, and certain Chinese-language communities, claiming that Honest Mining AI Cloud has deployed a new generation of AI dynamic scheduling mining machines capable of automatically switching to the optimal currency for BTC and ETH without users needing to buy physical mining rigs. Promotional slogans often feature 'AI helps you mine', 'computing power sharing', and 'daily yields of 1% to 2%', displaying forged overseas mining farm videos and real-time computing power dashboard screenshots.
• Step 2: Induce small-scale deposits and distribute false returns. After registering, users are pulled into a 'core group' by customer service and deposit 0.01 to 0.05 BTC or equivalent ETH to activate the contract. For the first 3 to 7 days, the platform returns daily small earnings displayed in platform currency or USDT, leading users to mistakenly believe the system is genuinely generating computing power. In reality, these rebates come from new users' principal, and there are no actual mining rigs or trackable wallet addresses in the background.
• Step 3: Set withdrawal thresholds and recruitment unlocks. When users attempt to withdraw, the system prompts 'AI computing power contribution conditions not met', requiring them to invite 3 to 5 new users and complete equivalent deposits to unlock withdrawal limits. Customer service talking points include 'platform risk control upgraded, AI consensus verification required' and 'the more people you invite, the higher your computing power level, and the faster your withdrawals', which essentially transforms old users into recruitment tools.
• Step 4: Tamper with data to maintain the illusion. The computing power curves, daily output, and coin price fluctuations seen by users in their personal backends are all frontend forged data, which can be seen in browser developer tools as hardcoded JSON responses in requests. If users question the authenticity of the computing power, customer service sends fake third-party audit reports or mining pool addresses, but these addresses show no corresponding computing power attribution upon on-chain query.
• Step 5: Freeze, run away, or execute secondary harvesting. When recruitment slows down and incoming funds are insufficient to pay early users' withdrawals, the platform begins freezing accounts indefinitely under the guise of 'system maintenance', 'AI model upgrading', or 'anti-money laundering audits'. Before running away, some platforms even launch an 'emergency withdrawal channel', requiring users to deposit another 10% margin for priority processing, essentially completing a secondary harvest before shutting down the website and disbanding the communities.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming that AI cloud mining daily returns exceed 0.5%, far higher than the true yield range of public mining pools.
• 🚩 Withdrawals require inviting new users to deposit first, otherwise limits are permanently frozen.
• 🚩 Unable to provide verifiable mining pool addresses, equipment serial numbers, or third-party computing power audit reports.
• 🚩 Front-end earnings numbers fail to correspond with actual on-chain Bitcoin or Ethereum output.
• 🚩 Customer service frequently urges recruitment, focusing talking points around 'upgrading computing power levels' and 'unlocking withdrawals' rather than explaining technical principles.
• 🚩 The official website or app's place of registration is in an offshore region, servers change frequently, and the domain registration time is less than one year.
• 🚩 A large number of accounts posting earnings screenshots in the community are newly registered minor accounts, and public discussions of withdrawal failures are banned.

真实案例

• In April 2026, Taiwan police cracked down on a fake AI mining accelerator case where suspects used shell USB devices claiming to accelerate mining, which was actually a scam to absorb funds, indicating that similar computing power disguise methods remain active in the Chinese market.
• According to public expose articles, an AI cloud mining platform forged overseas mining farm compliance licenses while actually owning no physical mining rigs, with user funds entering private wallets and becoming unwithdrawable, highly matching the Honest Mining AI Cloud model.
• In August 2026, Justice Net reported on a virtual currency mining scam where fraudsters used dating tactics to induce victims to deposit funds on a fake cloud mining platform, with the funds ultimately transferred into gold bar money laundering black chains, reflecting that similar scams have formed cross-regional money laundering chains.
• In December 2015, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued GAW Miners, ZenMiner, and their founders: between August and December 2014, the two companies sold approximately $19 million worth of cloud mining computing power contracts named 'Hashlets' to over 10,000 investors, but actually owned far fewer computing power shares than sold, relying on new investments to pay 'returns', characterized by the SEC complaint as having Ponzi scheme features. (Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/12/feds-sue-yet-another-cryptocurrency-startup-alleging-19m-ponzi-scheme/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/12/feds-sue-yet-another-cryptocurrency-startup-alleging-19m-ponzi-scheme/))
• In September 2014, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas final-ruled that Bitcoin Savings and Trust and its founder operated a Bitcoin hedge fund-style Ponzi scheme: before shutting down in August 2012, the platform absorbed at least 70,000 Bitcoins (worth over $4.5 million at average prices), and the court ordered disgorgement and penalties totaling over $40.4 million. (Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/texas-man-must-pay-40-4m-for-running-bitcoin-based-scam-court-rules/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/texas-man-must-pay-40-4m-for-running-bitcoin-based-scam-court-rules/))

Official Stance

• In June 2026, Shanghai Mankun Law Firm published a legal awareness article warning that virtual currency mining rebate models may simultaneously violate the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits and the crime of fund-raising fraud, incurring criminal liability.
• In August 2026, Justice Net released a virtual currency mining scam warning, reminding the public to remain vigilant against 'high-yield cloud mining' and 'AI computing power hosting', and disclosing related money laundering and dating-based traffic diversion techniques.
• Cybersecurity authorities in multiple regions continuously issued virtual currency investment risk warnings between 2025 and 2026, making it clear that cloud mining rebate platforms lacking financial licenses are not protected by law.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify computing power authenticity: Request the platform to provide specific mining pool addresses and device wallet signatures, and independently check the address's computing power attribution and daily output on an on-chain explorer.
• ✅ Reject the recruitment unlock model: Any operation where withdrawals require first inviting others to deposit or paying a margin can be judged as a Ponzi structure; immediately stop investing and take screenshots for evidence.
• ✅ Compare public earnings data: Use tools like WhatToMine to check current mainstream mining rig daily returns; if the platform claims yields several times higher, earnings can basically be determined to be fabricated.
• ✅ Check platform qualifications and domain history: Use Whois to query domain registration time, check whether overseas company registration numbers are genuine, and be wary of apps with vague or frequently changing places of registration.
• ✅ Once you find withdrawals are impossible, do not continue depositing, report to local public security cybersecurity authorities as soon as possible, and submit chat logs, transfer records, and platform page screenshots.