Scammers target Toncoin holders amid rising TON interest

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Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has reported an increase in fraud surrounding Toncoin.

Security specialists have warned that the integration of The Open Network (TON) blockchain and the Toncoin (TON) token on Telegram has made these users vulnerable to scam artists.

Starting from November 2023, there has been a surge in scams targeting Toncoin holders due to the rising interest and investment in TON. Crooks lure users into intricate referral schemes with the intention of swiping their TON tokens.

Individuals are enticed to sign up for a Telegram bot that supposedly manages digital currencies and connect their web3 wallets to the bot’s platform. Once on board, users are coerced into buying “enhancers” from the bot at their own expense. The scammers misleadingly assert that this step is essential for earning profits. Unfortunately, the purchase of a booster results in the user relinquishing all control over their cryptocurrency to the scammers.

Scammers offer two methods for users to earn: a one-time payment of 25 TON per referred friend, and a commission based on the booster rate bought by those referrals. According to Kaspersky, users may lose anywhere from $2 to $2,700 due to scams.

Currently, the value of Toncoin has dropped by over 5% in the last 24 hours to reach $5.72 based on information from CoinMarketCap. Over the course of a month, however, TON‘s prices have experienced a surge of around 10%, primarily due to several projects associated with Telegram messenger.

More recently, Pavel Durov, the creator of Telegram, shared exciting news about upcoming enhancements to the app. These new additions include a feature that lets sticker makers earn money from sales and an option for donations within the TON system.

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2024-04-23 21:26