Telegram-connected blockchain platform Open Network (TON) is under pressure as phishing attacks increase in its ecosystem, a blockchain security expert has warned.
The TON ecosystem, which features a variety of decentralized applications (DApps) and tokens built on the TON blockchain, has become a target of phishing attackers amid its stormy growth in 2024, according to the founder of blockchain security firm SlowMist.
“There is more and more phishing activity in the TON ecosystem,” SlowMist founder Yu Xian wrote in an X post on June 23.
According to Xian, the phishing vulnerability in the TON ecosystem is related to the easy access for fraudsters to groups of messages where they post phishing links. The executive said:
“The Telegram ecosystem is too free, and many phishing links (or bot forms) are spread through message groups, airdrops and other deceptive methods to lure users’ TON wallets en masse.”
Telegram users using anonymous numbers are more at risk
The risk of phishing in Telegram messenger is higher for users with anonymous numbers used to create Telegram accounts that are not linked to a SIM card, Xian noted.
“This means that being phished can also result in the loss of that Telegram account, unless the user has an independent password or two-factor authentication enabled,” the security expert wrote.
At the end of 2022, the ‘Anonymous Number’ option was introduced on Telegram, allowing users to log in to Telegram without using a SIM card.
Instead of relying on SIM cards, users can log in using blockchain-based anonymous numbers, available on platforms like Fragment.
TON ecosystem TVL has soared 4,500% so far in 2024.
The surge in phishing activity in the TON ecosystem comes amid significant growth in TON-based projects, including TON’s native cryptocurrency, Toncoin (TON), and its play-to-earn token, Notcoin (NOT).
Clicker games and tokens like Notcoin have emerged as one of the key drivers of the TON ecosystem in 2024, gaining immense popularity among Telegram users.
Related: Binance integrates USDT into TON and begins trading.
As of this writing, the TON ecosystem includes 43 tokens with a total market capitalization of $19.2 billion, according to data from Bitget. According to DefiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) of various TON projects is now $648 million, an increase of 4,500% since January 1, 2024.
With TON growing exponentially in 2024, many security platforms have been warning users about phishing and fraud attacks.
Last April, security experts from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky warned the public about a large-scale fraud involving users of the TON ecosystem. The fraud scheme involves tools such as unofficial Telegram bots, which are used to steal users’ coins by connecting Telegram’s third-party cryptocurrency wallet, Wallet, to a bot system.
Cointelegraph approached the TON Foundation for comment on the increase in phishing attacks against the TON ecosystem, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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