Telegram’s public endorsement of The Open Network (TON) blockchain and its plan to integrate its native Toncoin token have attracted scammers who are preying on unsuspecting tokenholders for their own gain.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has provided details of a cryptocurrency scam that has been targeting Telegram users worldwide in an attempt to steal Toncoin (TON). The scam has been operating since at least November 2023, coinciding with the increased interest and investment in TON. Scammers have been promoting an intricate referral scheme with the ultimate goal of stealing TON tokens from users.
Potential victims receive a link from their friends or contacts inviting them to participate in an “exclusive earning program.” The scammers then encourage victims to join an unofficial Telegram bot that supposedly stores cryptocurrency and asks them to link their Web3 wallet to the bot’s system.
At the same time, the fraudsters instruct users to purchase Toncoin through legitimate channels such as the official Telegram bot, peer-to-peer (P2P) markets, or cryptocurrency exchanges, which adds a sense of credibility and security.
The scammers then coerce victims into buying “boosters” using a separate bot, claiming that this is necessary to start earning. This is the point where the scammers profit. Once a user purchases a booster, they lose control of their cryptocurrency permanently.
“The costs of ‘boosters’ – labeled by the scammers as ‘bike,’ ‘car,’ ‘train,’ ‘plane,’ or ‘rocket’ – vary from 5 to 500 Toncoins,” explained Kaspersky’s experts.
Users end up losing between $2 and $2,700 through this pyramid scheme. After convincing users to buy fake boosters, the scammers promote a referral program that requires victims to create private Telegram groups with their friends and contacts.
The scammers provide a referral link along with video instructions in both Russian and English. Users must have five successful referrals to start earning through the fraudulent scheme.
The scammers promise earnings from two sources – a fixed payment of 25 TON for each invited friend and a commission based on the booster tariff purchased by their referrals.
“This turns out to be a classic pyramid scheme, where each participant is a partner rather than a freeloader. Unfortunately, only the scammers profit, and all ‘partners’ lose their investments,” explained Kaspersky’s analysts.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Kaspersky for more information on the number of affected users and the total amount of funds lost. This article will be updated accordingly.