As a seasoned analyst with a decade of experience navigating the tumultuous seas of the cryptocurrency market, I find myself both alarmed and amused by this latest development. The closure of a wallet-draining service on The Open Network (TON) is a testament to the dynamic nature of this industry – it’s always evolving, sometimes for the better, but more often than not, it seems to be a game of cat and mouse between legitimate operators and these nefarious actors.
On The Open Network (TON), a costly operation known as a ‘whale-less’ service has declared it will be shutting down. This service, which focused on emptying TON wallets, shared the news with its followers on October 7, advising them to consider switching to a similar Bitcoin-targeted drain instead.
According to a post on Scam Sniffer’s official X page (Scam Sniffer is a crypto anti-scam solution), a scammer, as shown in a screenshot, announced that they were halting their activities on the TON network. The reason given was that the TON network has few large investors (whales) and a relatively small community. Moreover, the scammer implied that those who found draining the TON network enjoyable would likely find more profitable opportunities in Bitcoin.
In the very same post, the individual responsible for depleting funds advised users to privately message them if they wished to transfer Bitcoin. Additionally, they made it clear that they will not be rejoining the Telegram Open Network (TON) in the future.
The shutdown of this service is a consequence of heightened attention towards the TON ecosystem from drainers, as reported in an interview with Blockaid co-founder Raz Niv for Cointelegraph. He emphasized that the appeal of TON has grown among hackers due to the value being exchanged within its network.
Recently, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on the TON network has been growing, largely due to numerous projects being developed within it. As a result, TON’s TVL reached approximately $608.65 million in July. The integration with the messaging app Telegram has significantly contributed to this growth in TVL for TON. However, this increased activity has also drawn in malicious users who seek opportunities to exploit the expanding value of the ecosystem.
A malicious act was detected involving a TON drainer, where a fake $5,000 USDT transaction was used to lure users. The scammer exploited TON’s comment feature, which allows messages to be attached to transactions, using it to hide their true intent.
After users completed their transactions, it was discovered that their funds had been unlawfully taken. This incident resulted in the theft of approximately 22,000 Toncoin tokens, with a total value exceeding $150,000, as reported by Scam Sniffer in May.
Phishing Scams and Growing Crypto Fraud
In the world of cryptocurrency, there’s been an increase in cases of phishing fraud, resulting in more than 10,000 individuals losing around $46 million in September alone.
As a researcher delving into the world of cybersecurity, I’ve uncovered a staggering fact – phishing scams have resulted in a whopping loss of $127 million per month, affecting approximately 11,000 unsuspecting individuals every single month.
A significant instance of phishing led to the theft of more than $32 million worth of cryptocurrency. These deceitful practices trick users into linking their digital wallets to fake platforms, enabling hackers to make withdrawals without further authentication.
As a researcher, I find it crucial to anticipate the tactics employed by unscrupulous entities in their attempts to deceive users. These methods may include utilizing compromised invite links, fabricating advertisements, or even leveraging bots or hacked accounts to bombard Twitter comments and mentions with phishing links or harmful content.
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2024-10-07 17:36