TON Blockchain Platform Linked to Messaging Giant Telegram Experiences Surge in Phishing Activities

This significant increase in hoaxes comes amid the platform's exponential growth in 2024. Yu Xian, CEO of blockchain security firm SlowMist, has raised concerns

Messaging titan Telegram's conjoined blockchain platform, The Open Network (TON), is purportedly experiencing a dramatic surge in phishing activities. This rapid increase in hoaxes comes amid the platform's rapid growth in 2024. Yu Xian, the founder of blockchain security firm SlowMist, has raised concerns about the growing propensity of phishing activities targeting the TON ecosystem. Highlighting TON's ecosystem, which includes a diverse of decentralized applications (DApps) and tokens built on the TON blockchain, makes it a lucrative target for cybercriminals. Moreover, Xian attributed this rise in phishing activity to the facility with which scammers can infiltrate Telegram message groups. These groups often become breeding grounds for disseminating malicious links and bot forms disguised as airdrops or other alluring offers. Unsuspecting users who interact with these scams risk losing their entire TON wallet holdings, including NFTs. One of Telegram's unique features that has led to the vulnerability within the TON ecosystem is the “anonymous numbers” feature. Making its debut in late 2022, this unique feature empowers users to create Telegram accounts without a SIM card, relying on blockchain technology. While this feature ensures robust privacy, it also poses a security challenge. If a user's anonymous number is compromised through a phishing attack, they could lose access to their entire Telegram account unless additional security measures like two-step verification or a separate password are in place. This lack of traditional identification methods makes anonymous accounts particularly attractive targets for cybercriminals. Despite the security concerns, TON boasts significant financial growth. According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) within various TON projects, accounting for the combined value of cryptoassets deposited in DeFi (decentralized finance) applications, has surged by a whopping 4,500% since the beginning of 2024, reaching a current value of $648 million.

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