Beware of Fake VC Scams

This scene is infuriating — well-known VC/PE firms are being impersonated by criminals who lure victims with promises of high returns, leaving countless individuals financially ruined and threatening to turn the impersonated firms into scapegoats whose reputations take a hit.

Since last November, a so-called investment app called "Qiming Venture Partners QMVP" has been circulating in various social groups, claiming "15% returns in 4 days" and "daily interest of 2% on demand deposits," attracting numerous unsuspecting individuals. Yet this platform, which appeared to come from a prestigious firm, was actually a criminal operation — fraudsters illegally using the name of renowned VC firm Qiming Venture Partners to carry out illegal fundraising and illegal absorption of public deposits through an infringing app, with suspected fraudulent amounts reaching massive levels.

Starting in January 2025, Qiming Venture Partners has issued three consecutive official solemn statements on its WeChat official account and website, clearly stating that it has never launched any official app and that such platforms are all criminal scams by fraudsters misappropriating its name. Qiming Venture Partners has reported the matter to relevant authorities. "Private equity funds only raise capital from specific qualified investors who meet certain conditions," Qiming Venture Partners reminded investors and entrepreneurs to stay vigilant, verify authenticity, and avoid financial losses.

01/

Qiming Venture Partners Impersonated

This is a textbook case of a cloned scam.

The criminals precisely targeted the well-known venture capital firm "Qiming Venture Partners" as their impersonation object, organizing a "capital pool" scheme. They induced users to deposit funds through an app called "OKX," then conducted "investment activities" on their forged "Qiming Venture Partners (QMVP)" app, telling users "this is a private equity fund, you can invest on this app, and after a certain period both principal and interest will be returned."

During this process, the criminals induced users to engage in "investment activities" with absurdly high returns, already suspected of violating relevant laws and regulations.

Because the name and logo of this fake app were completely identical in appearance to Qiming Venture Partners' abbreviated name and logo, and because promotional materials also stole information from Qiming Venture Partners' website and investment cases, it created the illusion of "backing from a big name."

Through this fraudulent app misappropriating Qiming Venture Partners' name, the criminals carried out so-called "daily tasks," "fun games," and other activities, gathering potential individual participants to provide investment advice and project services, thereby profiting through illegal fundraising. According to information provided by victims, the cumulative amount involved in this fake app is massive.

In fact, as a professional private equity investment institution, Qiming Venture Partners only serves qualified investors and has never developed an app for the general public.

Since the beginning of this year, Qiming Venture Partners has issued multiple official statements indicating that it has no official app, does not have customer service staff targeting C-end audiences, and has never operated or authorized any third party to operate any third-party website or "Qiming Venture Partners" app.

But the criminals are rampant, and social platforms have frequently seen posts claiming "Qiming Venture Partners is preparing to run away," drawing public attention. All of this has seriously damaged Qiming Venture Partners' reputation.

More urgently, according to multi-channel information verification, the aforementioned fake app has already entered its final "harvest phase," causing countless deceived individuals to face massive financial losses.

In response, over the past nearly year, Qiming Venture Partners has repeatedly attempted complaints, appeals, and police reports through multiple channels, and has done everything possible to dissuade people who privately messaged its WeChat official account backend. At the same time, Qiming Venture Partners has continuously stated that it has no legal or commercial relationship with the aforementioned infringing activities, has reported the matter to relevant authorities, and reserves the right to pursue legal liability against the criminals.

02/

Stay Vigilant

In recent years, the phenomenon of impersonating VCs/PEs to commit fraud has intensified. According to incomplete statistics from PEDaily, at least 20 VC/PE firms have issued solemn statements about "impersonators," including well-known institutions such as IDG Capital, CDH Investments, GGV Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, BlueRun Ventures, and Harvest Capital.

Reviewing these cases, the pattern of this scam is not hard to spot: leveraging the reputation and halo of well-known, legitimate VC/PE institutions for packaging, then carrying out targeted fraud.

A friend at a law firm reminded that when encountering such incidents, victims should report to the police immediately. Based on experience, cases involving impersonating legitimate institutions to recruit members, providing securities investment analysis and predictions, or acting on behalf of clients in securities investment and wealth management activities; using insider information or "limit-up stocks" as bait to collect membership fees or consulting fees; impersonating professionals to recommend stocks, launching fake "stock recommendation software," and luring investors to put in money — these are all too common and are key targets for crackdown.

But what is heartbreaking is that this "fake Li Kui" fraud tactic is becoming increasingly deceptive with technological development, subtly affecting the reputation of the entire VC/PE industry.

"In recent years, much illegal fundraising has been conducted under the banner of equity investment, giving outsiders a rather bad impression: illegal fundraising = P2P = asset management = funds = VC/PE," said one industry insider with some resignation. "The impact is extremely negative — some LPs may develop stereotypes because of this and distance themselves from the industry."

For ordinary individual investors, this is equally instructive. For any investment opportunity that hasn't been proactively verified and comes from unofficial channels, especially those that sound "too good to be true," the best response is: don't believe it blindly, don't transfer money, verify first, and protect your property. If you suspect you may have been defrauded, report it to public security authorities promptly.

It's still that simple truth: there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Source | PEDaily

Author | Jiali Zhou

---

PAST REVIEWS

Solemn Statement Qiming Honors | Qiming Venture Partners Ranks 5th in Zero2IPO's 2024 China Venture Capital Firms and Wins 5 Other Major Awards Qiming Headlines | Qiming Venture Partners and Portfolio Companies Win Multiple Awards Including ChinaVenture's 2024 Top 5 Best Venture Capital Firms

---

Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its establishment, it has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare.

To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have gone public on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. Over 80 companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.

Many companies in Qiming Venture Partners' portfolio have grown into the most influential companies in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE:ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD), HyperStrong (688411.SH), Insta360 (688775.SH), Unisound (09678.HK), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), SinoCellTech (688520.SH), Yuanxin Technology, Insilico Medicine, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, Zhipu, StepFun, Biren Technology, and others.