TON-Based Wallet Drainer Shuts Down, Shifts Focus to Bitcoin

A notorious wallet drainer operating within The Open Network (TON) has officially ceased its operations and redirected users to a different crypto-draining service. The drainer cited the lack of large-scale investors, or "whales," within the TON ecosystem as a primary reason for shutting down, stating that the small community was negatively affecting its business model.

On October 7, Scam Sniffer, a Web3 anti-scam solution, shared a screenshot of the drainer's announcement. The hackers wrote:

"Due to TON not having whales and it being a small community, we will close."

They further directed users to target Bitcoin (BTC) instead, suggesting that those who enjoyed draining TON wallets would also find success with BTC. The message clearly indicated that the TON-based service would not be revived, and promoted a new crypto-draining service focused on Bitcoin.

Wallet Drainers Eye the TON Ecosystem

Interest in TON from crypto drainers began to rise in mid-2023. Raz Niv, co-founder of Blockaid, shared insights in a previous interview with Cointelegraph, noting an increased number of drainers becoming active in the TON ecosystem.

“We’re seeing a lot of drainers become more and more interested in the TON ecosystem [because] there is so much value streamed through TON,” Niv explained.

One TON-based drainer was detected using a fake 5,000 USDt (USDT) transaction as bait. This scam took advantage of TON’s comment feature, which allows custom messages to accompany transactions, masking the true purpose of the transfer. Victims were tricked into clicking a “Confirm” button, which initiated the draining of tokens. In May, Scam Sniffer reported that this tactic had already resulted in the theft of over 22,000 TON tokens, worth more than $150,000 at the time.

Rise in Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks have also been a significant issue in the crypto space, with malicious actors tricking users into linking their wallets to fraudulent services. Scam Sniffer revealed that September alone saw over 10,800 victims of phishing attacks, with total losses amounting to around $46.6 million in digital assets. One particularly large phishing transaction drained over $32 million in crypto.

While TON’s smaller community may have deterred wallet drainers, the shift toward Bitcoin highlights how these malicious actors constantly adapt, seeking out larger targets and new methods to exploit vulnerabilities in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.

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