Because of its incorporation of the TON blockchain and its own Toncoin currency, Telegram has turned into a haven for con artists advertising referral pyramid schemes.

Due to Telegram's open endorsement of The Open Network (TON) blockchain and its plan to integrate its own Toncoin token, con artists have begun preying on gullible tokenholders in an attempt to steal their money.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky provided Cointelegraph with information about a cryptocurrency fraud that aims to steal Toncoin (TON) from Telegram users all across the world.

Experts at Kaspersky claim that the fraud has been going since at least November 2023, when interest in and money invested in TON increased.

Con artists have been advertising a complex referral programme with the ultimate goal of defrauding users of their TON tokens.

Friends or connections send a link to prospective prospects so they can take part in an “exclusive earning program.”

The scammers then begin prompting victims to join an unofficial Telegram bot purportedly designed to store cryptocurrency and to link their Web3 wallet to the bot’s system.

At the same time, the fraudsters instruct users to purchase Toncoin through legitimate channels like the official Telegram bot, peer-to-peer (P2P) markets or cryptocurrency exchanges, which adds an element of credibility and a false sense of security.

Victims are then coerced into purchasing “boosters” using a separate bot. The scammers claim that users must complete this action to start earning.

This is the point at which scammers make their money. After purchasing a booster, the user irrevocably loses control of their cryptocurrency.

“The costs of ‘boosters’ — labeled by the scammers as ‘bike,’ ‘car,’ ‘train,’ ‘plane,’ or ‘rocket’ — vary from 5 to 500 Toncoins,” Kaspersky’s experts explained.

Users lose anywhere between $2 and $2,700 through the targeted pyramid scheme.

After convincing users to purchase fake boosters, the scammers also tout a referral program that requires victims to create private Telegram groups with friends and contacts.

The scammers provide a referral link that comes with its own video instructions for users in both Russian and English.

Users are required to have five successful referrals in order to start earning through the fraudulent scheme.

The con artists guarantee profits from two different sources: a commission based on the booster tariff your referrals buy, and a fixed payment of 25 TON for each buddy you invite.

It turns out to be a traditional pyramid plan, where each person takes part as a partner and not as a taker.

Sadly, all "partners" lose their investments, and the only people who benefit are the con artists, according to Kaspersky's analysts.

Cointelegraph has asked Kaspersky for more details about how many people are impacted and how much money has been lost in total. We'll update this page appropriately.