The message is familiar: Stanford-linked founders, tens of millions of users, tap a phone daily, and enter my invite code on minepi.com. That is usually genuine Pi Network recruitment, not a random phishing page — which is precisely why it spreads. Growth has long relied on inviting friends to speed up “mining”. Critics compare that ladder to multi-level marketing; some exchanges and executives have refused listings, citing police and consumer warnings in various countries about data harvesting and pyramid-like promotion.
Pi’s team announced an Open Network in February 2025. An open mainnet is not the same as deep liquidity, stable utility or a promise that locked tokens will fund a retirement. Price talk and “everywhere listing soon” posts are still speculation, often from people who benefit if you keep recruiting.
You do not have to call the whole project a courtroom fraud to decide it is a poor use of time and identity documents. KYC for phone mining hands real passports to a long-running experiment. Paid “accelerators”, fake Pi apps and OTC deal groups are a second scam layer on top of the official app.
If the only plan is “invite more people until the coin moons”, you are in a recruitment story. Walk past it.
If a Pi-related deal already took money or documents, start at Get help.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.