SlowMist Warns of Phishing Surge in TON Ecosystem

The inventor of SlowMist claims that the Telegram IM ecosystem is “too free” for exploiters of The Open Network (TON), a blockchain platform tied to Telegram, and that phishing attacks are rising

As per the founder of the blockchain security firm SlowMist, the TON ecosystem, which comprises a variety of decentralized applications (DApps) and tokens based on the TON blockchain, has been increasingly targeted by phishing assailants during its turbulent expansion in 2024.

In an X post on June 23, SlowMist founder Yu Xian stated that the TON ecosystem is experiencing increasing fraudulent activities.

As per Xian, the phishing vulnerabilities in the TON ecosystem are linked to the ease of access to message groups by fraudsters, where they post phishing links. The executive declared:

“The Telegram ecosystem is excessively permissive, and many phishing links, bot forms, and other deceptive methods are disseminated through message groups and airdrops to steal users’ TON wallets in bulk.”

Users of Telegram who have anonymous phone numbers are at a higher risk

Xian observed that users with anonymous numbers used to establish Telegram accounts not associated with SIM cards are at a higher risk of phishing on the Telegram messenger.

“If these are phished away, the corresponding Telegram account may also be lost unless the user has enabled an independent password or two-step verification,” the security expert wrote.

In late 2022, Telegram implemented the “anonymous numbers” feature, enabling users to access the platform without needing a SIM card.

Blockchain-based anonymous numbers are accessible on platforms such as Fragment, allowing users to register without needing a SIM card.

The TON ecosystem TVL has experienced a 4,500% increase thus far in 2024

The TON ecosystem has experienced a significant increase in fraud activity, which coincides with the considerable expansion of TON-based projects. These projects include TON’s native cryptocurrency, Toncoin (TON), and the play-to-earn token Notcoin (NOT).

In 2024, clicker games and tokens such as Notcoin have become one of the primary drivers of TON’s ecosystem, garnering significant popularity among Telegram users.

According to BitGet data, the TON ecosystem comprises 43 tokens with a combined market capitalization of $19.2 billion at the time of this writing.

According to DefiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) on various TON projects is presently $648 million, a 4,500% increase since January 1, 2024.

Numerous security platforms have warned users about phishing and scam assaults amid the exponential expansion of TON in 2024.

The public was cautioned by security experts from the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky in April about a significant fraud involving TON ecosystem users.

The scam strategy entails using unofficial Telegram bots to steal users’ coins by connecting their Wallet, a third-party cryptocurrency wallet on Telegram, to the bot system.