- Recent Analysis of the "MZS Scam Project" Uncovers Nine Additional Fraudulent Projects
- Evidence of Listings and Delistings on Overseas Exchanges, Money Laundering via Exchanges, and Investor Losses Detected
Kloint, a digital asset intelligence company, announced on September 15 that it had identified fraudulent indications in a total of 10 projects operated in the same or similar manner as the MZS (Member Zone Solutions) case, which has recently spread across domestic and international communities.
The projects investigated include STOY (Security Token Offering Y), HorseMania (HMC), LogiTron (LTR), PlayXB (PXB), Golf and Golf (GNG), GPT chat (GPTCH), Golf and Cart (GNC), Golf Cart Victorias (GCV), and UPNEWS (UPNEWS). The on-chain activities of these projects, as confirmed in the investigation, were continuously issued and operated from wallets on the Polygon network between August 2023 and January 2025. At least six tokens were sequentially created from the same wallet address, and each project announced overseas exchange listings immediately after issuance or promoted use as a payment method on its own platform, indicating an attempt to attract investors.
By project, MZS officially announced the launch of spot market trading (MZS/USDT) on March 5, 2024. GCV was confirmed to have announced listings on DigiFinex and NexDAX. GPTCH announced its listing as the GPTCH/USDT pair on BitMart on February 11, 2025, and UPNEWS was exposed on DigiFinex on June 18, 2025. GNC showed on-chain distribution traces but no external listing announcement was found, while GNG was confirmed to have promoted a DigiFinex listing.
Each project promoted listings and trading launches through unregistered VASP exchanges such as XeggeX, DigiFinex, BVOX, BankCEX, UZX, NexDAX, and Azbit. Meanwhile, some projects operated their own online platform called "Comarket," selling golf tour passes, overseas hotel and tour packages, and vacation event vouchers, in addition to simple exchange listings. These platforms forced the use of specific tokens such as GNG for product payments and used promotional phrases like "Coin Usable for Payment Expansion Event," disguising the tokens as if they were legal and usable in real life. This method is interpreted as a tactic to induce investor trust by linking tokens with no real value to consumer goods, thereby naturally attracting funds through payments.
However, in some cases, trading pairs were delisted or trading support was discontinued shortly after listing, and there were even cases where exchanges themselves were shut down for regulatory violations. This is analyzed as a method of creating the illusion of a "legitimate listing" for investors, only to quickly cut off trading channels.
Notably, most trading pairs on the exchanges were set up based on USDT, which suggests that, since the tokens themselves have no real value, the intent was to absorb investment funds in the form of the stablecoin USDT. Ultimately, investor funds were converted from worthless tokens into USDT and then moved to operator wallets or external destinations, with evidence suggesting this process was used as a money laundering route.
The onboarding and conversion process was similar across almost all projects. After installing the app and linking a wallet, users were guided to create and recover accounts based on UID and to deposit funds into overseas exchanges. Investors were then led through specific spot pair searches and trading steps with step-by-step capture materials, and, to evade domestic regulations, the process included whitelist registration and intermediary remittance via personal wallets.
Promotional phrases such as "Listing Imminent," "Airdrop Deadline," "Membership Benefits," and "Special Bonus" were repeatedly used to create a sense of urgency, prompting investors to make indiscriminate deposits.
The key findings from the white paper analysis show that although MZS claims to integrate a "golf platform ecosystem" with DAO and DApp, the actual service flow and revenue model are unclear. The token section only presents total issuance and distribution ratios, lacking disclosure of lock-up, vesting, pre- and post-listing circulation plans, and investor protection mechanisms, revealing transparency deficiencies in distribution and governance.
Regarding investigative trends, it was reported that three operators were arrested and referred for prosecution in the GCV case by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit. In the case related to MZS, several individuals were referred without detention, and there were indications of high-priced purchase inducement using phrases such as "planned domestic listing" and "membership provision." Other projects are still under investigation, so final judgments will depend on judicial procedures.
In particular, UPNEWS coin was identified as the most recently created case, requiring special caution from investors. In addition, tracking addresses that minted large quantities of tokens in each project's smart contract revealed interconnections, suggesting that MZS and related projects may not be isolated incidents but rather organized and coordinated activities. Therefore, investment or participation in these projects should be approached with caution.
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