AI-UP, a click-a-button Ponzi scheme that illegally used Universal Pictures' branding, ceased operations on February 19th, 2025. The platform's website became inaccessible days after the Central Bank of Russia issued a public warning against the pyramid fraud on February 10th.
The scheme offered no details about its ownership or management on its "ai-up.top" domain, which was registered only recently. This lack of corporate transparency is a common red flag in fraudulent investment operations, making it impossible for participants to identify the individuals or entities behind the promises of daily returns. Regulators frequently caution against engaging with platforms that conceal their operators.
AI-UP presented no genuine products or services. Its affiliates marketed only membership to the platform itself. Participants invested Tether (USDT), a stablecoin, to unlock various VIP tiers, each promising specific daily returns. For instance, VIP1 cost 8 USDT and offered 1.6 USDT daily, while VIP2 required 30 USDT for a 6 USDT daily payout. A VIP3 tier demanded 80 USDT for 20 USDT daily, with higher VIP levels remaining undisclosed to the public.
The compensation structure relied heavily on recruitment. AI-UP paid commissions through a unilevel system, where affiliates earned a percentage of the USDT invested by their downline. Commissions were paid across four levels: 10% on level 1, 3% on level 2, 2% on level 3, and 1% on level 4. The scheme also offered a rolling 24-hour downline investment bonus; generating 1,000 USDT in new investment yielded a 20 USDT bonus, scaling up to 800 USDT for 20,000 USDT generated. While technically free, participation required a minimum investment of 10 USDT.
The core "gimmick" involved "scoring" film trailers. Users would log in, select a film, and click a button to rate it. Higher investment levels corresponded to more daily clicks. This activity was presented as a requirement to qualify for the promised returns. However, the clicking action generated no external revenue. AI-UP functioned as a pure Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay off earlier ones.
This "click-a-button" app Ponzi model first emerged in late 2021. Numerous similar schemes, often stealing identities of legitimate brands, have collapsed. Examples include FIS VIP, Salavi88, and Trump Watches, all of which promised easy returns before vanishing. Film-scoring variants like Eternal Horizon and Conti followed the same pattern. Analysts have tracked hundreds of these scams since 2021, with most lasting only weeks or months before their websites and apps go dark without warning. Most investors lose all their money.
When these schemes collapse, operators frequently launch "recovery scams." They demand additional fees to "restore access" or "enable withdrawals" that never materialize. Victims pay these fees only to find their funds still frozen or the scammers disappearing entirely.
Chinese organized crime groups often run these operations from "scam factories" located in Southeast Asia. In September 2024, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Cambodian politician Ly Yong Phat for providing shelter to Chinese scammers through his businesses. Myanmar reported deporting over 50,000 Chinese scam factory workers since October 2023. Despite these efforts, the proliferation of such scams continues. In late January 2025, Chinese officials met with Thai counterparts to discuss organized crime groups operating near the Myanmar border. Early February saw Thailand cut power, internet, and fuel supplies to these scam factories, signaling a coordinated crackdown.