NPC 'Air Coin' Project Scam: Exploiting AI Technology to Defraud Investors

Who Gets Targeted

The victims are primarily young white-collar workers and college students who lack professional investment experience, particularly concentrated in regions like Hubei, Yunnan, and Jiangxi, where offline promotion has been observed. They are easily misled by AI technology labels and confused by jargon such as 'AI computing power leasing' and 'consensus mining.' Driven by wishful thinking and the promise of 'low investment, high daily returns, and guaranteed profits,' they lower their guard due to peer pressure from social circles and live-stream demonstrations, starting with small amounts before increasing their stakes. Participants in these copycat projects have been known to deposit up to 59,880 USDT; once the operators 'pull the plug,' withdrawals become impossible, leading to total loss. Similar fraudulent AI-based Ponzi schemes have involved over 50 million yuan, with other project collapses resulting in losses for over 10,000 people (media estimates, not independently verified).

骗局怎么运作

• Project organizers distribute fabricated AI technical promotional materials on Telegram, WeChat groups, and other channels, claiming to have developed an 'AI-generated content computing network' and providing so-called technical white papers and demo videos to create credibility through scientific terminology.
• Using influencers or self-proclaimed industry experts as 'brand ambassadors,' they conduct live demonstrations showing fake transaction screenshots and high dividend figures, inducing viewers to purchase project tokens at a 'flash sale price' within a limited time, emphasizing that early entry yields higher returns.
• The project team implements an 'airdrop + referral commission' mechanism, requiring users to purchase a certain amount of tokens and invite friends, promising extra token rewards for each referral to rapidly expand the fundraising scale through multi-level marketing.
• After raising hundreds of millions of yuan, the project team uses forged smart contract addresses to claim the tokens are on-chain, while hiding the actual transfer paths on blockchain explorers. They then suspend trading under excuses like 'technical upgrades' or 'security audits' and block official communication channels.
• Finally, the project team collectively transfers the tokens to overseas cold wallets and disappears. Victims can only see the tokens locked on the public blockchain, and any recovery efforts are difficult to execute due to anonymity and cross-border transfers.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Promotional materials heavily use technical terms like AI and machine learning but lack any verifiable technical reports or patent information.
• 🚩 Promises of fixed high dividends or daily returns, with vague explanations of the revenue source, relying solely on 'platform computing power output' or 'AI ecosystem dividends.'
• 🚩 The project is promoted only through private social media chats or community groups, lacking a formal company website, registration information, or public team profiles.
• 🚩 Requires purchasing tokens first and participating in 'airdrop referrals,' inducing victims to recruit others to form a pyramid structure.
• 🚩 No project registration or listing information can be found through official channels (such as exchanges or regulatory bodies), and the token contract address is flagged as high-risk on mainstream blockchain explorers.

真实案例

• In March 2024, the AIC Lobster Consensus Protocol was listed as a high-risk air coin by anti-fraud platforms. With cumulative investments exceeding 100 million yuan and approximately 15,000 victims, the project team promised a 0.5% daily return in community groups before disappearing with the funds (Source: paiu.cn).
• In November 2023, VAST.AI, a project masquerading as an AI unicorn, used a 1 billion yuan financing claim as a front to issue air coins in multiple Telegram groups. It was eventually busted by police, involving approximately 1.2 billion yuan and over 80,000 people (Source: paiu.cn).
• In July 2024, police cracked an air coin pyramid scheme worth approximately 1.1 billion yuan. The criminal gang issued fake tokens through 'NPC Air Coin,' defrauding 110,000 members of a total of approximately 1.1 billion yuan (Source: fbn.hexiesq.com).

Official Stance

• The People's Bank of China and eight other departments, 2026-02-06, issued the 'Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks Related to Virtual Currencies' (Yinfa [2026] No. 42) (Source: https://www.csrc.gov.cn/csrc/c100028/c7614320/content.shtml)
• Shenzhen Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, 2026-06-29, issued the 'Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Financial Activities Involving Virtual Currencies' (Source: https://www.gdjr.gov.cn/gdjr/jrzx/dfjr/content/mpost_43714.html)
• National Internet Finance Association of China and six other associations, 2025-12-05, issued the 'Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Activities Involving Virtual Currencies' (Source: https://www.xinhuanet.com/20251205/9c5f08259f6b4b58aeb88b797485b6fe/c.html)

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before investing, check the project company's registration on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, verify the shareholder list and any abnormal business records, and confirm the real identities and backgrounds of the team members.
• ✅ Do not trust recommendations from strangers or influencers on social media. It is recommended to confirm whether the token has received legal listing approval through official channels (such as exchange websites or regulatory announcements).
• ✅ Stay vigilant against any project that requires upfront payment for tokens or offers referral commissions, especially those promising fixed returns, which should be treated as high-risk.
• ✅ If you find yourself involved in such a project, promptly save chat logs and transfer receipts, and report the case to local public security authorities or the China Internet Finance Risk Prevention Center to help track the flow of assets on the blockchain.