Invest 100,000 virtual mining machines and earn 500 yuan daily? One article to see the true face of mining machine rental scams

Recently, some users have been asking online: A family member invested over 100,000 New Taiwan Dollars to buy so-called “virtual mining machines,” claiming to earn about 500 yuan daily. Is this real mining or a scam? This question deserves in-depth discussion.

Numbers Speak: Uncovering Unreasonable Return Promises

Let’s start with a straightforward answer: investing tens of thousands in virtual mining machines and earning 500 yuan daily translates to an annualized return rate of over 100%. This figure has already seriously exceeded the normal range of any legitimate investment market.

Generally, if an investment promises a return exceeding 10%, you should be alert; over 100% is no longer an investment but a high-risk trap. Projects that promise “steady profits” and “high returns with low risk” are often classic scam routines.

The Logic of Virtual Mining Machines: Illusions You Can’t See

Unlike traditional mining, which requires purchasing physical mining hardware and bearing electricity and maintenance costs, virtual mining machines claim that you only need to buy “hashpower” online to sit back and earn. It sounds tempting, but the core question is: How can you verify that the leased hashpower actually exists?

This is where the scam’s cleverness lies. Scam teams build sophisticated websites, display seemingly professional data reports, and claim to have large physical mining farms overseas. They say the virtual mining machines you buy correspond one-to-one with their physical equipment. More cunningly, they may fake investment apps that show your account steadily growing daily, creating the illusion of “normal income flow.”

Common Tactics in Hashrate Mining Scam

The initial “sweet” phase of “rake in and kill”

Many scam groups operate on social media or LINE groups, led by so-called “teachers” or “analysts” who place trades, while other members are actually undercover agents. They create a false prosperity where “everyone is making money,” and initially let you experience small gains to lure you into investing more.

Fake withdrawal mechanisms

Small tokens (like USDT) are deposited into your wallet daily, but when you try to withdraw large amounts, the system suddenly shows withdrawal failure. Then they start demanding additional investments under various pretexts like “tax,” “unlock fee,” or “service charge.” Ultimately, victims can’t withdraw a single cent.

Offline events to build trust

Some scam groups invite investors to offline gatherings or even organize trips to China. The purpose is to strengthen trust and make victims believe this is a real enterprise. But legitimate mining farms or hashpower platforms rarely use such methods to maintain customer relationships.

Major Hashrate Mining Scam Cases in History

Case 1: Disappearing multinational mining farm

Singapore once uncovered a cross-border scam where the main suspect claimed to cooperate with a large mine in Yunnan, China, owning 300,000 machines. They attracted over 700 investors with promises of “0.5% daily stable profit,” scamming up to 160 million TWD.

What’s the truth? There was no such mine at all. All earnings were paid using new investors’ funds to pay old investors—this is the notorious Ponzi scheme—a pyramid-like money chain where new money is used to pay earlier participants until the system collapses.

Case 2: US SEC crackdown on Bit-Club Network

In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut down a cloud mining scam called Bit-Club Network, involving over $720 million in fraud. This organization also promised unrealistic high returns, even claiming monthly profits of 100%, which is a fantasy in any legitimate investment market.

Case 3: LINE group scam in Taiwan

In Taiwan, some scam groups set up “Yunhe Coin (YNC) Mining Farm Group” on LINE, tricking victims into investing 2.44 million TWD to buy “mining coins.” The entire operation involved undercover agents constantly creating “illusory profits” to brainwash victims.

How to Identify Genuine vs. Fake Virtual Mining Investments?

When facing these hashpower mining scams, users can judge from the following aspects:

Check the promised return rate

If someone promises guaranteed profits, risk-free gains, and an excessively high return rate, it’s almost certainly problematic. Any legitimate investment cannot guarantee absolute returns.

Verify ownership rights

Can you independently verify ownership of the mining hardware or hashpower? The key is whether the hashpower can be connected to reputable pools like F2Pool for validation. If they only provide vague screenshots or videos, or no photos at all, you can dismiss it immediately.

Confirm the mined currency

Ensure that the mining is for mainstream currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which have market liquidity, rather than obscure “air coins” that no one has heard of or cannot be exchanged. Is the community for the token active and real, or are they zombie accounts?

Examine transparency of fund flow

Legitimate platforms will have clear contract terms and transparent fund mechanisms. If they ask you to transfer money to suspicious personal accounts or communicate and handle transactions via LINE or other informal channels, it’s very dangerous. Reputable platforms use official payment channels and full compliance procedures.

Final Advice

If you cannot clearly understand why you can profit, then you are probably just a source of profit for others. Legitimate projects in virtual mining and cloud mining do exist, but scam groups are also frequent. The key to identification is to stay alert, say “no” to unreasonable promises, and “no” to vague investment logic.

The reason why hashpower mining scams succeed repeatedly is that they exploit people’s desire for “passive income.” When you see stable daily growth figures, rationality is often overridden by greed. But this is exactly when we need to stay sober.