Telegram Usernames Sell for Record $2.1 Million in TON, Followed by Phishing Attacks

According to Bits.media, Telegram usernames and premium numbers sold for record-high prices in TON tokens on May 13, with @danbao fetching 1.58 million TON (approximately $2.1 million) from an anonymous buyer last weekend, marking the platform's highest transaction. Other premium numbers followed: @boss sold for 500,000 USDT, +888 8222 for 520,000 TON (approximately $650,000), and +888 8899 for 423,900 TON.

Hours after these transactions, attackers launched targeted phishing attacks using counterfeit USDT on NFT trading platform Getgems. A Chinese collector lost a premium number +888 8321 worth over $800,000. Additionally, a crypto trader who created a wallet through Telegram bot SIGMA lost approximately $200,000 across Ethereum, Base, and BSC networks. Security researchers noted that fraudsters are increasingly leveraging Telegram bots and mini-apps for cryptocurrency theft.