Following three weeks of intermittent availability and several months of reports indicating that withdrawals were being halted, the longstanding Vice City darknet marketplace was declared by a Dread moderator yesterday to be "most likely" undergoing an exit scam, despite its current online status.
Vice City had been beset by a number of issues for several months, gradually eroding the trust of its users due to prolonged periods of downtime, difficulties in processing withdrawals and deposits, and a general lack of communication from market staff and administrators. The market was removed from the trusted darknet link provider tor.taxi at some point during the last two to three weeks, lending credence to the notion that something was not right.
In a short post titled "Do Not Use ViceCity Market At This Time" by Dread moderator Solar, the unfavorable situation of the market appeared to be validated, thereby allaying the concerns of its users that had persisted for several weeks. Solar stated that "Markets (sic) is most likely exit scamming" without adding any supplementary context or information.
The final communication from the official Vice City account on Dread was made on April 19, 2023. Despite its lack of activity, the account failed to address user concerns or dispel rumors of its potential demise, which had been circulating since December 2022. However, the market consistently returned after extended periods of downtime, proving skeptics wrong.
Presently, the prevailing belief on Dread is that the exit scam was premeditated. Recent posts in the Vice City subdread highlight a range of issues, including unprocessed withdrawal requests, login difficulties, and inadequate support for tickets and disputes.
Vice City was launched in May 2020 and has been the subject of significant controversy throughout its three-year tenure. In addition to the aforementioned problems, the market's fundamental features were frequently in disrepair, leading some to question its reliability. Despite these challenges, Vice City gained popularity due to its extensive selection of listings and Direct Pay payment system.
