A real technical expose unfolded on the r/CryptoScamSupport forum. User Fearless_Ranger_8739 conducted a pentest of the Ltcminer cloud mining platform's servers and proved that it is a 100% scam disguised as a legitimate business.

According to Fearless_Ranger_8739, the service's technical protection turned out to be nonexistent. During testing, it was discovered that the main configuration file .env was publicly accessible via the direct URL http://34.*******/.env. It contained absolutely all of the project's secrets: MySQL database passwords, the master seed for deriving all user wallets, private keys for TRON, Ethereum, and BSC, as well as admin panel access credentials. Using the leaked credentials, the researchers gained full control over the internal management panel, where they could monitor user accounts and financial transactions. Moreover, exposed API endpoints returned sensitive transaction data without any authorization, and the enabled directory listing allowed them to download the source code of the entire application.

As proof, the author posted the full contents of the .env file right in the post; however, for security reasons, we will not publish these private keys and passwords here. The bottom line is that anyone could have gained administrative access to the platform and stolen all of the crypto assets stored on it.

Beyond the technical failures, the legal side of the fraud also came to light. According to Fearless_Ranger_8739, the company LTCMINER LTD, on whose behalf the service operates, was officially dissolved back on October 8, 2019. In other words, the scammers had been collecting money for years under the cover of a non-existent legal entity.

The author emphasizes that Ltcminer is a classic Ponzi scheme, where early investors are paid profits from the influx of new participants in order to create an illusion of legitimacy.