After enduring three weeks of sporadic accessibility and receiving months of complaints about halted withdrawals, the well-established Vice City darknet marketplace was pronounced “most likely” engaged in an exit scam by a Dread moderator on June 8th, even though it currently remains accessible online.
Vice City had been grappling with numerous issues for several months, eroding user confidence due to prolonged downtimes, challenges in processing both withdrawals and deposits, and an overall lack of communication from the market’s staff and administrators. Tor.taxi, a trusted darknet link provider, removed the market from its listings in the last two to three weeks, adding weight to the suspicion that something was awry.
In a concise post titled “Do Not Use ViceCity Market At This Time,” Dread moderator Solar seemingly confirmed the market’s unfavorable state, addressing the concerns that many users had harbored for the past few weeks. Solar stated, “Markets is most likely exit scamming,” without offering any further context or details.
Despite various reports indicating halted withdrawal processing, Vice City appeared to be fully operational as of June 9th, with no mention of ongoing problems.
The official Vice City account on Dread posted its last message on April 19, 2023. While the account was not particularly active, it had never addressed user concerns or the multiple speculations about its demise. Rumors of an impending exit scam had circulated since at least December 2022, but the market consistently returned after extended periods offline, proving skeptics wrong.
The prevailing sentiment on Dread currently suggests that the exit scam may have been in the works for a considerable time. Recent posts in the Vice City subdread highlight various issues with the market, ranging from unprocessed withdrawal requests to login difficulties and a lack of support for tickets and disputes.
Launched in May 2020, Vice City faced controversy throughout its three-year existence. In addition to persistent issues such as those mentioned earlier, the market’s basic functionalities often faced disrepair, causing some to question its reliability. Despite its challenges, Vice City gained popularity due to its relatively extensive listings and the Direct Pay (per-order) payment system.