SlowMist warns of rising phishing attacks on The Open Network (TON) ecosystem amid its 2024 growth.
The Open Network (TON), a blockchain platform that is linked to Telegram, is currently experiencing an increase in phishing assaults on its ecosystem, according to a blockchain security expert.
As per the founder of the blockchain security firm SlowMist, the TON ecosystem, which comprises a variety of decentralized applications (DApps) and tokens that are 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 an increasing number of fraudulent activities.
The phishing vulnerabilities in the TON ecosystem, as per Xian, are linked to the ease of access to message groups by fraudsters, where they post phishing links. The executive declared:
“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 away users’ TON wallets in batches.”
Xian observed that users with anonymous numbers, which are used to establish Telegram accounts that are 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, which enables users to access the platform without the need for a SIM card.
Blockchain-based anonymous numbers are accessible on platforms such as Fragment, allowing users to register in without the need for a SIM card.
The TON ecosystem has experienced a significant increase in fraud activity, which coincides with the significant 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 a variety of TON projects is presently $648 million, a 4,500% increase since January 1, 2024.
Numerous security platforms have issued warnings to users regarding 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 that involved users of the TON ecosystem.
The scam strategy entails the use of unofficial Telegram bots to steal users’ coins by connecting their Wallet, a third-party cryptocurrency wallet on Telegram, to the bot system.
