The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint regarding Topmining.top, a purported Bitcoin mining platform. The website, www.topmining.top, offers access to a cryptocurrency mining machine or “power upgrade” for users who pay a 100trx (Tron) electricity fee to the wallet address, TXyQLofqgPp9t9yUG115cwZ2uDK7A44xH5.
The complainant, who invested $5.00 in the exchange, reportedly earned 1.349225 Bitcoin (BTC), and was asked to pay additional funds in order to withdraw the money. A message on the investor’s account stated, “To access your funds in USD proceed with the cryptocurrency exchange. Binance charges a fee of 0.25%. The conversion cost will be $64.” The investor was informed that the withdrawal needed to be made within 24 hours.
Minimal information was provided regarding the complaint. However, DFI identified several red flags indicating this may be what is commonly called “Advance Fee Fraud”. Some of the red flags included the following:
- Users are provided a wallet address in order to pay a fee. However, no other information about the company is disclosed on the website.
- The company does not appear to be a commonly known Bitcoin mining pool or cloud miner.
- The website domain was very recently registered on August 13, 2024.
- The investor was pressured to pay funds quickly to avoid losing out on profits.
- In general, the return on investment appears “too good to be true”.
These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Protecting Yourself from Financial Fraud
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers