Fake AI Game Publishing Bureau: Scamming High Extra Outsourcing Fees via Fictional NFT Issuance Volumes and Disappearing

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are predominantly independent game developers, founders of small game studios, and heads of traditional outsourcing teams transitioning into the space, aged between 25 and 40. Having often just earned their first bucket of gold from one or two small games, they are eager to seize the AI and NFT trends for scale transition, yet lack the capabilities for on-chain data verification, smart contract audits, and overseas entity due diligence. Fraudsters precisely exploit their psychological weaknesses—fear of missing out, belief in major corporate backgrounds, and gullibility toward screenshot data. Using a script framework of 'issuing NFTs first, patching games later,' they drive victims under fear of missing out to skip normal contract reviews and milestone-based payment protections, paying large lump-sum deposits and server pre-order fees upfront, only to be exhausted of their recourse time limit through stalling tactics during project delays.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Packaging personas and the project. The gang registers multiple domestic and international shell companies, claiming to possess AI-generated game engines and strategic partnerships with major public chains, producing polished whitepapers and demo videos. The demonstration content actually consists of stitched-together public models, using scripts such as 'We are a former executive team from a major tech giant, AI generates a game a day, and initial NFT distribution has already been pre-subscribed by 100,000 copies.'
• Step 2: Falsifying issuance data. Using self-built platforms or niche exchanges for wash trading to manufacture NFT transaction volume and floor prices, they show victims backend screenshots and forged on-chain dashboards, falsely claiming that issuance volume has been 80% subscribed, with the pitch 'If you don't integrate now, you'll miss the initial release window.'
• Step 3: Luring victims into signing high-value outsourcing contracts. Under the guise of joint AI game publishing, they collect engine licensing fees, on-chain deployment fees, art AI training fees, and promotional deposits, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan per transaction. The contracting entity is set up overseas or as an associated shell company, and after payment, they deliver only crude AI assets as perfunctory fulfillment.
• Step 4: Manufacturing illusions of progress to stall. They periodically release test builds and update announcements, demanding additional server and node fees to launch, pitching that 'on-chain gas fees and compliance audit costs exceeded expectations; pay one more amount and trading can open,' thus shifting the responsibility of project abandonment onto technical and market environments.
• Step 5: Price crash and disappearance. Once NFTs launch, they dump the tokens or fail to launch on regulated platforms altogether. Community channels are muted, customer service goes offline, and the company is deregistered. Victims holding contracts find that the contracting entity has no executable assets, and after the capital chain breaks, the cost of seeking rights far exceeds the losses.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming that AI can generate a game a day and that NFT pre-issued volume reaches hundreds of thousands, while refusing to provide real on-chain contract addresses verifiable independently on public block explorers.
• 🚩 Providing only backend screenshots and Excel tables for issuance data instead of third-party audit reports, with on-chain transaction volumes concentrated in a handful of inter-transfer addresses, clearly indicating wash trading.
• 🚩 Receiving payments through personal accounts or frequently changing affiliated company accounts, with contracting entities registered on overseas islands and paid-in capital of zero.
• 🚩 Using pressure tactics like tight schedules and launch windows to urge payment, while refusing normal business terms of milestone-based installment payments and acceptance delivery.
• 🚩 Team member backgrounds cannot be verified; alleged major corporate backgrounds and capital endorsements are untraceable in public channels, and the demonstration demo cannot run properly in-game.
• 🚩 Demanding extra payments under numerous vaguely-named and unclear destinations such as on-chain compliance audit fees and node deposits.

真实案例

• Public reports indicate that around 2025, multiple projects under the banner of AI games and NFTs collected development deposits under the guise of publishing before abandoning the projects. The pattern was highly consistent with this case, and victims were unable to recover outsourcing and licensing fees.
• According to public reports, internet influencer Dishi stated that he was defrauded of tens of millions of yuan by cryptocurrency acquaintances under the guise of project cooperation, reflecting how endorsements by acquaintances paired with on-chain project packaging pose devastating threats to content entrepreneurs.
• In April 2026, 17173 reported that the producer of the online game Ashes of Creation was accused of misappropriating crowdfunding funds for personal luxury living, and the game fell into financial disputes just one month after launch, with the producer exposed for spending crowdfunding funds on personal chefs, luxury mansions, and other extravagant lifestyles. (Source: [https://news.17173.com/content/04132026/120004050.shtml](https://news.17173.com/content/04132026/120004050.shtml))
• In April 2026, according to feedback from multiple investors, after investing millions of yuan in the Changcheng Yiqu Pai platform—which claimed to be operated by a state-owned enterprise—they were unable to withdraw funds. The platform lured investors in by using high-priced liquor order biddings to earn price differences, while funds actually cycled among participants; lawyers described it as a classic Ponzi scheme. (Source: [https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2026-04-24/4358159.html](https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2026-04-24/4358159.html))
• In March 2026, Cailuwang disclosed that the Metaverse AI financial project A2K capital pyramid scheme was fully exposed, with police in multiple regions opening investigations. Forty-three operators and core team leaders were arrested, police froze 32 million yuan in involved funds, the total amount involved exceeded 20 billion yuan, and victims surpassed 50,000. (Source: [https://www.cailu888.com/post/4365.html](https://www.cailu888.com/post/4365.html))
• In June 2020, police in Yancheng, Jiangsu cracked the massive PlusToken online pyramid scheme, involving 310,000 bitcoins and 9.17 million ethers, with the total asset value exceeding 40 billion RMB at the time. (Source: [https://www.odaily.news/zh-CN/post/5212725](https://www.odaily.news/zh-CN/post/5212725))

Official Stance

• In September 2021, the People's Bank of China and ten other departments issued the Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks in Virtual Currency Trading Speculation, clarifying that virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities, and that NFT tokenized issuance and speculation carry extremely high legal risks.
• In April 2022, the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association, and the Securities Association of China jointly issued an initiative on preventing financial risks related to NFTs, calling for curbing the financialization and securitization trends of NFTs and preventing illegal fundraising and fraud.
• The National Anti-Fraud Center has repeatedly warned through official channels against fake investment and fake outsourcing scams packaged under blockchain, metaverse, and AI concepts, urging the public to verify entity qualifications and refuse payments to private accounts.
• In July 2025, CNR.cn exposed a metaverse farm scam, pointing out that the model of collecting subscription fees in the name of the metaverse and virtual assets and then absconding has been highlighted by regulators and media.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before signing contracts, verify the entity's paid-in capital, litigation records, and affiliated companies using the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and overseas registration query tools, and refuse transactions with zero-paid-in shell companies.
• ✅ Insist on milestone-based installment payments, using runnable in-game demos and third-party code hosting records as acceptance vouchers for each stage, and refuse to pay high lump-sum deposits.
• ✅ Demand contract addresses and transaction data that can be independently verified on public blockchain explorers, and treat projects providing only screenshots as high-risk.
• ✅ For any cooperation involving token or NFT issuance sharing, consult lawyers first to confirm compliance; domestic entities must not participate in any form of token issuance financing activities.
• ✅ Retain chat records, contracts, transfer vouchers, and promotional materials. Once signs of abandonment are discovered, report to the police immediately and apply for property preservation.