XMiner.io Cloud Mining Scam

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XMiner.io Homepage/Logo

XMiner.io claimed to run a cryptocurrency cloud mining platform and offered various packages with guaranteed returns. Users who purchased small packages would receive their promised returns promptly, while users who purchased the larger packages would be met with excuses when they tried to withdraw. The platform operated for a couple of months before shutting down with all remaining funds.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

About XMiner.io

"Start Bitcoin Mining Now!" "Expe[rie]nce New Hashrate products. Offic[i]al Gu[i]dance for whole time[.] Easy to make money[.]"

"Welcome Bonus" "Newbie Sign Up And Get a $3 Bonus!" "Invite Friends To Sign Up & Invest" "Earn Your 2% Commission"

"4 Years Of Stable Operation With Over 600,000 Users. Top Level Cloud Mining Platform. We Make Mining Easier Than Ever!"

High Quality Service High standard farm and maintenance team.

Easy Procedure Simple steps to start mining immediately without deployment and maintenance difficulty.

Newest Hardware We use The newest ASIC miner, GPU rigs.

Strong Security SSL encryption communication and multi-layer cold storage of coins fully guarantee safety.

High Value Performance Cheaper mining price and reduced overseas electricity costs.

World Coverage We deploys mining nodes in Asia, Europe, America etc. with 100% genuine hashrate.

Daily Payouts The mining starts immediately after confirmed payment. First payouts within 24 hours. Afterwards, the payouts continue daily.

Secondary Market Secondary market is available with cost-effective price after order has been confirmed.

"Open account for free and start mining today!"

"Xminer.io pays a few small payments to gain your trust. You put in more money, and that’s where they make up a reason you can’t withdraw and they “freeze” your funds until you add ridiculous amounts of money into their account. It’s extortion… except you will never get your money out of their system."

"The address they have listed on their site… turns out it’s in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s. Beware of the vegetables here as the mining machines will create enough heat to wilt the lettuce."

"I fairly quickly realised something was not right just by the look and feel of the website as well as their too good to be true claims that they can pay out up to 150% within 60 days and so I did some digging."

"Just few days back I bought their $50 contract for btc which gave me $50 Plus $6 the next day. Also provide $3 as sign up bonus. So in total had $59 with them. I requested withdrawal as BCH to my online wallet and in 5 mins I had the coins. This $50 is only applicable for new users so I can't test it again. Now I'm going to try their $100 for 2 days with $7 in profit and will report back in few days since i'm arranging balance funds."

"So it's working for now. $100 for 3 days and I got back $107. I again rolled it for 3 days and tomorrow I'll finish the contract and hopefull earn another $7. As long as I can keep rolling my $100 i'm fine with it. In a month I'll have $70. Once I get back my $100 I'll put in $300 for 10 days for $60 return. So far it's legit."

"Latest update for 2 x 3 days of $100 rolling I have earned $14 USD and have withdrawn amount and will roll 100$ again for 3 days."

"I put money into Xminer.io with the intention of documenting the process. I lost $2000 of real money, but it’s money well spent if I can save you from losing a bigger sum."

"They took the money and ran!"

"THeir last offer of doubling the investment seemed to raise big red flag and I tried taking out my remaining $115 but couldn't and today it's no more. Careful as most of the scam cloudmining companies are gonna be exiting soon."

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

  • Known history of when and how the service was started.
  • What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
  • What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
  • Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
  • Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
  • How were people recruited to participate?
  • Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

  • Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
  • Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

  • When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
  • Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
  • How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
  • Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - XMiner.io Cloud Mining Scam
Date Event Description
February 18th, 2021 4:11:31 AM MST First Capture The first capture of the xminer.io website being online.
March 9th, 2021 3:56:16 AM MST Reddit Post Reddit post about the scam to warn others in the community.
March 9th, 2021 3:57:33 AM MST Crosspost Reddit thread is cross-posted.
March 10th, 2021 4:12:05 AM MST Site Captured The site is captured in the internet archive. There are a total of 6 mining plans available.
March 13th, 2021 11:46:17 PM MST Paying Small Sums Reports buying the $50 contract and getting back $59.
March 21st, 2021 5:28:04 AM MDT Paying Small Sums "So it's working for now. $100 for 3 days and I got back $107. I again rolled it for 3 days and tomorrow I'll finish the contract and hopefull earn another $7. As long as I can keep rolling my $100 i'm fine with it. In a month I'll have $70. Once I get back my $100 I'll put in $300 for 10 days for $60 return. So far it's legit."
March 22nd, 2021 5:09:07 AM MDT Paying Small Sums "Latest update for 2 x 3 days of $100 rolling I have earned $14 USD and have withdrawn amount and will roll 100$ again for 3 days."
March 31st, 2021 3:00:00 AM MDT Platform Exits The platform reportedly exits and stops paying out withdrawals. The user above had $115 left in the platform.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.

References