AI Token Wealth Staking Scam - Luring deposits under the guise of official computing power dividends before running away with funds

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are mostly working professionals aged 25 to 45 who routinely use AI office tools, have a basic fondness for AI concepts, but lack knowledge of blockchain and financial risk control. Some retirees are also pulled in by friends and family. Their psychological vulnerability lies in a natural trust toward officially endorsed pitches; seeing words like national tokens or operator computing power lowers their guard. At the same time, lacking a risk anchor for annualized returns of 30 percent on locked positions, and pressured by the atmosphere of profit-flaunting in chat groups for fear of missing out on so-called early dividends, they start with small test amounts, see returns credited, gradually increase their investment, and ultimately have all their savings or even borrowed funds locked in.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Precise Traffic Direction. Placing content on short-video platforms exploiting keywords such as national tokens and operator AI computing power, claiming an official AI project is opening token subscription slots. Pitches mostly claim internal channel quotas are limited, guiding users to scan QR codes to join instant messaging groups where numerous shills are deployed to create a buying frenzy atmosphere.
• Step 2: Building Fake Platforms. Creating staking financial pages and apps mimicking official website styles, fabricating a computing power dividend model with a 30 percent annualized lock-up return, and displaying forged operating entity qualifications and partnership agreement screenshots to make users mistakenly believe there is a legitimate corporate or official background endorsement.
• Step 3: Small-Scale Baiting. Guiding victims to invest several hundred to several thousand yuan to purchase so-called tokens. The first-round dividend is credited on time and can be flaunted in the group, using genuine crediting to build trust. Shills cooperate by posting screenshots of large investments and high returns to stimulate victims into increasing their investments.
• Step 4: Lock-Up and Harvest. Inducing users to transfer money into long-term lock-up pools using tactics such as limited-time interest rate hikes, node upgrades, or unlocking higher dividend tiers. During this period, funds have actually been transferred layer by layer to coin mixers or overseas accounts, and the platform book profits are merely backend numbers that can be modified at will.
• Step 5: Running Away to End. When withdrawal applications pile up or new capital inflows slow down, the platform suspends withdrawals under the pretext of system upgrades, regulatory reviews, or liquidity maintenance, then shuts down websites and disbands groups. Customer service loses contact, and on-chain tracking shows single-case funds reaching the hundred-million-dollar scale.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming that concepts like tokens, computing power, and tokens can be directly staked to yield interest, with promised annualized lock-up returns far exceeding normal wealth management levels, while explanations of profit sources remain vague.
• 🚩 Using endorsement terms such as official, national, or operator, but failing to provide verifiable regulatory filing numbers, corporate industrial and commercial information, and a real office address.
• 🚩 Demanding the download of apps from unofficial app stores via group links, or transferring top-up funds to personal accounts or anonymous wallet addresses.
• 🚩 Numerous accounts in groups flaunting earnings and withdrawal screenshots, while new members' speech is strictly restricted, and dissenters are quickly kicked out.
• 🚩 Setting up reinvestment rewards and recruit-to-earn commission mechanisms, where earnings levels are tied to the number of downlines developed, forming a classic pyramid structure.
• 🚩 Frequent changes to withdrawal rules, delaying payouts under the guise of maintenance, upgrades, or audits, and throwing out secondary harvesting pitches claiming that investing one more sum will unlock funds.

真实案例

• According to a Zhihu column public breakdown in May 2026, an AI token staking scam in May 2026 involved approximately 1.6 billion USD traced on-chain. A 35-year-old corporate victim entered after seeing promotions of 30 percent annualized lock-up for official AI tokens, moving from small test funds to heavy lock-up within 7 days before ultimately failing to withdraw. This case outlines a complete seven-day harvesting process.
• According to Gate's DeFi security analysis published in May 2026, attacks and fraud losses related to DeFi and AI concepts exceeded 1.1 billion USD over the past 12 months. Multiple liquidity pools under names like AI market making and smart staking ran away or were hollowed out after gathering deposits, causing the total value locked in DeFi to briefly plunge by over 20 billion USD.
• According to Binance Square citing security agency data in May 2026, hacker and fraud losses related to DeFi protocols surpassed 840 million USD in the first five months of 2026. A considerable proportion involved fake staking pools and governance attack exits under the gimmick of AI automated yields, with victims being retail investors across multiple countries and regions.
• In May 2025, the Procuratorate of Jianye District, Nanjing handled a case of illegal absorption of public deposits disguised under Chinese computing power mobile phone applications involving over 160 participants. Lawbreakers gathered deposits through fake computing power wealth management products, and gang members were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of one year and eleven months respectively. (Source: [http://dfjrjgj.hunan.gov.cn/jrbk/jrzs/202601/t20260123_33900448.html](http://dfjrjgj.hunan.gov.cn/jrbk/jrzs/202601/t20260123_33900448.html))
• In 2023, the People's Court of Pinggu District, Beijing tried a fundraising fraud case involving virtual mining rig rental mining rebate scams. The masterminds built a fake mining platform to swindle 244 investors out of over 37 million yuan, and gang members were sentenced to fifteen years in prison and fined 500,000 yuan. (Source: [https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260330A07CXM00](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260330A07CXM00))

Official Stance

• On July 21, 2026, the Financial Action Task Force released a special report on decentralized finance regulatory challenges, systematically sorting out crime risks and on-chain fund transfer methods under the guise of staking mining, requiring all jurisdictions to strengthen virtual asset regulatory enforcement.
• In May 2026, Gate Research released an AI-driven DeFi security crisis analysis pointing out that AI programming agents can already batch discover and exploit protocol vulnerabilities, reminding users to be wary of any AI staking project promising fixed high yields.
• In April 2026, Gate released a practical guide on on-chain asset security in the AI era, reminding investors to verify protocol audit reports and governance privileges combined with Chainalysis and TRM Labs reports to guard against fake staking and real exit scams.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Treat any staking, mining, or token wealth management promising fixed high annualized returns as high risk, and first verify the authenticity of operating entities through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and regulatory filing lists.
• ✅ Do not top up apps downloaded via group links, and do not transfer funds to personal accounts or anonymous addresses. Before investing, check on-chain explorers to see if contracts have been audited by authoritative institutions and whether governance privileges are centralized in a few addresses.
• ✅ Remain vigilant against early punctual returns, as they are bait rather than proof of credit; never borrow or add leverage to participate in any lock-up products, and control investment amounts within a range where total loss can be tolerated.
• ✅ If you find withdrawal obstructed or the platform out of contact, immediately preserve chat records, transfer receipts, and contract addresses. Report the case to public security authorities at the first instance and consult the anti-fraud hotline 96110, entrusting on-chain security institutions to track fund flows when necessary.