Scammers have taken advantage of Telegram’s backing for The Open Network (TON) blockchain and its planned integration of the Toncoin token, deceiving unwary token holders.
A cybersecurity company named Kaspersky has provided details to CryptoMoon about a deceitful scheme aimed at swindling Toncoins (TON) from Telegram users across the globe.
Based on information from Kaspersky’s team of experts, this fraudulent activity has been ongoing since at least November 2023. The surge in interest and investment in TON has provided an opportune moment for scammers to capitalize. They have devised a complex referral program designed to ultimately swipe TON tokens from unsuspecting users.
Friends or contacts send potential victims a link for a supposedly exclusive earning opportunity. Once they click, scammers encourage them to sign up for an unauthorized Telegram group, allegedly created to manage cryptocurrencies and require users to connect their Web3 wallets to the bot’s platform.
Simultaneously, con artists guide users to buy Toncoins via trustworthy methods such as the official Telegram bot, P2P marketplaces, or digital currency exchanges. This creates a veneer of legitimacy and gives users a misleading feeling of safety.
After being pressured into it, victims are instructed by the swindlers to buy “enhancers” through a different automated system. The con artists assertively insist that this step is necessary before users can begin making money.
At this stage, scammers reap their profits. Once a user buys a booster, they relinquish all authority over their cryptocurrency.
According to Kaspersky’s team, the prices for “boosters,” which are misleadingly named as “bike,” “car,” “train,” “plane,” or “rocket,” can range from 5 to 500 Toncoins. (A more natural way of expressing this could be: The cost of these “boosters” labeled as various modes of transportation ranges between 5 and 500 Toncoins, as explained by Kaspersky’s experts.)
Individuals may lose anything from $2 to $2,700 in funds due to involvement in the targeted pyramid scheme. Conned users are then encouraged to buy fraudulent boosters. In addition, scammers promote a referral program, urging participants to establish private Telegram groups with their friends and contacts.
Scammers give users a referral link along with instructional videos in Russian and English. To begin earning from the deceitful venture, users must securely make five successful referrals first.
Scammers offer two methods for earning money: a set fee of 25 TON for every friend you bring in, and a commission based on the tariff your referrals buy (referred to as boosters).
“It turns out to be a classic pyramid scheme, in which each participant is a partner rather than a freeloader. Sadly, nobody profits except the scammers, and all “partners” lose their investments,” Kaspersky’s analysts explain.
CryptoMoon is seeking more details from Kaspersky on the number of users impacted and the value of the funds that were stolen in the recent security breach. The information will be included in this article as soon as it becomes available.
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2024-04-23 11:49