Web3 Entry Must-Read: In-Depth Analysis of Liquidity Mining Scams, Revealing 4 Common Tricks

Why Are Beginners Easily Trapped?

SlowMist Security Team has recently identified a serious phenomenon—the rapid increase in asset losses caused by fake mining pool scams. These scams are rampant because they cleverly exploit two major weaknesses of new users: first, insufficient understanding of the crypto market; second, the desire for high returns. Even more insidiously, these scams do not rely on complex technology but instead use seemingly “legitimate” operational processes and innovative gameplay to make it difficult for inexperienced people to defend themselves.

Trick One: Creating Trust Illusions Through Large Communities

Scammers impersonate well-known exchanges on Telegram to set up scam groups, often with thousands or even tens of thousands of members. Many new users mistakenly believe that a large number of members indicates high authenticity, but in reality, this is a carefully planned setup by the scammers. Even more suspicious are scam groups with over 50,000 members online but fewer than 100 active users, which is obviously abnormal compared to genuine official groups. The group is filled with carefully crafted “casual chat” content, which are all bait.

To enhance confusion, scammers also provide detailed operation tutorials, teaching newbies how to check mining pool staking status, download wallets, and transfer funds to designated contract addresses. These “considerate” guides are actually designed to lead victims step by step into the trap.

Trick Two: Layered Induction into a Fund Black Hole

The core mechanism of the scam is: funds must be stored in the pool for a period to generate returns. After seeing initial rebates, new users are further induced to deposit more funds to obtain higher returns. However, these rebates may not be in real tokens but in counterfeit coins with no trading value.

Even worse, scammers set psychological traps—claiming “only continuous deposits can redeem the principal.” Under this threat, users are forced to deposit 5% to 8% of their total assets in USDT into the scammer’s designated account daily. This means each day’s deposit must be larger than the previous day, ultimately forming an inescapable fund black hole.

Trick Three: Fake Trading Platform Data Falsification

Some scammers first lead users to a self-built scam trading platform, manipulating backend data to create a false appearance of profit. These fake gains only exist on the platform display and do not involve actual asset increases. Confused by “superior investment ability,” users are then invited to participate in so-called “mining pool activities,” ultimately falling into a bottomless daily deposit trap.

Trick Four: Malicious Authorization Leading to Direct Fund Theft

Some scams even skip layered induction and directly use phishing links. Scammers claim to launch "super node mining activities,"诱导 users to click links and perform malicious authorizations, ultimately stealing funds without the user’s knowledge.

How to Effectively Prevent Liquidity Mining Scams?

First: Be Wary of Unreasonable Return Promises
Promises of returns higher than market norms are often the first sign of a scam. Genuine liquidity mining yields are constrained by actual market conditions and will not skyrocket infinitely.

Second: Never Authorize Arbitrarily
Reject unknown links and unverified authorization operations. Always verify the authenticity of official channels before performing any blockchain operations.

Third: Multi-Dimensional Verification of Group Authenticity
Don’t judge solely by group size. Observe the ratio of online to total members, official verification badges, discussion quality within the group, and other information. If data is suspiciously inconsistent, be immediately alert.

Fourth: Maintain Skepticism Toward Fund Transfer Operations
Any activity requiring transfers should be confirmed through multiple channels, including checking official websites, contacting official customer service, and verifying contract addresses on blockchain explorers.

The reason liquidity mining scams keep emerging is that they exploit human desires for high returns and unfamiliarity with new fields. Improving vigilance, maintaining skepticism, and multi-party verification are the best defenses for new Web3 users.