“Then the community cto’d it to $135 million. He could’ve had 1.2 million. Then they doxxed his name, address and sschool. The community is roothless,” said a user on X.

One trader dubbed the boy “the future of finance,” while another reminded the community that this boy represents a messed up generation that has been “optimized to do that to people.”

The malicious application’s developers are now moving to the Bitcoin blockchain, which will probably create many more opportunities for scammers to rob.

“What’s next? If you enjoyed draining on the TON network you will definitely live draining Bitcoins.”

One of the main reasons for the lack of whales is the vast number of airdrops on TON. They make fraud not the most profitable way to earn money: phishing schemes on The Open Network bring little profit, reducing scammers’ interest.

However, SlowMist founder Yu Xian said that such an assessment of whale activity in TON may need to be more complex. In his opinion, the drainer team may need to pay more attention to the potential of the TON blockchain.

“A phishing group on TON is ready to shut down, arguing that they believe TON has no whale players and is a small community. They have already turned to the Bitcoin ecosystem… Too realistic. Or maybe this gang isn’t smart enough.”

Yu Xian, SlowMist founder

How the TON blockchain became a new haven for scammers

TON has become one of the most successful stories of 2024, with the value of its token growing by more than 100% since the beginning of the year. In addition, integrating TON with the Telegram messenger, which has more than 900 million users, strengthened its position as a potential residence for the widespread distribution of cryptocurrency.

Scammers’ activity in TON arose against the backdrop of the rapid growth of the blockchain. Due to increased interest and investment in TON, fraudulent activity has gained momentum since at least November 2023.

The interest is mainly driven by the increasing popularity of mini-apps. They successfully exploited the popularity of projects such as Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. Typically, the attackers used the popularity of tap-to-earn games.

For example, Kaspersky Lab noted that scammers offered to earn Toncoin (TON) using bots and referral links. To make it easier to deceive users, the scammers recorded a video with instructions, created text manuals, and provided them with many explanatory screenshots.

Tonkeeper explained that the scammers rely on current trends in the ecosystem. For example, they created a token against the backdrop of the excitement caused by the launch of Hamster Kombat. Therefore, the names and tickers of fake tokens are often consonant with the names of popular projects.

“Usually, scammers create tokens before the official listing of the real coin. Check information about the token launch in official sources.”

Tonkeeper team

Experts from BlockAid also noted that attackers used leak tools previously used on the Ethereum and Solana platforms. In September, more than 300 malicious decentralized applications (dapps) were launched on TON, highlighting the growing threats.

What is the most popular blockchain for fraud?

Despite the growing popularity of TON, the blockchain has yet to boast of popularity among fraudsters, according to data from the REKT Database.

Thus, Ethereum became the leader in phishing attacks last year, suffering losses of over $65 million, 91% of the total loss. Arbitrum also suffered losses of $5.2 million, while Bitcoin lost $768,000.

In terms of exploits, Ethereum was also the most affected blockchain in this category, with losses of $482.7 million, while Binance was the most vulnerable to exit scams, with a loss of $74.5 million.

Regarding attackers’ move to the Bitcoin blockchain, CertiK, another well-known company in the blockchain security field, emphasized that scammers are becoming increasingly interested in Bitcoin due to its high transaction volumes, large user base, and significant total value locked (TVL).

Phishing attacks on Bitcoin have increased significantly in recent months. One of the most notable incidents was the attack on a Bitcoin whale that resulted in $238 million in losses, further highlighting the growing risks in this area.

By the looks of things, this has now unleashed a huge can of worms. Coffeezilla shared a screenshot that shows how his inbox has been bombarded with slurs.

Why? Because Tate reposted an anonymous account that exposed Coffeezilla’s email address, with the misogynist telling his followers: “Email him and call him gay.” 

Undeterred, the investigator has insisted that he still wants a reply to his questions — and it’s likely that, if the clock runs out, Coffeezilla’s video will go live anyway without a comment.

The YouTuber also posted a comical mash-up that showed Tate chomping on a cigar because it looks cool, declaring that he respected Coffeezilla, cutting to another clip where he says:

“Coffeezilla is a b****. I don’t give a f*** about your video, I don’t respect your journalism.”

Given how wide-eyed Tate is as he jabs his finger toward the camera, you could suggest that all of this scrutiny is bothering the sham entrepreneur more than he lets on.

What is Coffeezilla investigating? 

Coffeezilla, who married his high school girlfriend in 2017, has so far remained tight-lipped about the nature of the allegations against Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan. 

But it seems a core part of the focus in his upcoming investigation will surround the $DADDY token, which has fallen precipitously in value since launch and has never recovered.

An all-time high of $0.2925 was set in mid-June when CoinMarketCap started tracking the altcoin — and at the time of writing, it’s down by more than 48%.

Tate’s full rebuttal video is something of a parody — honestly, some of the lines in there are pure comedy, especially how they are delivered. He tells Coffeezilla: 

“I guarantee I drink more coffee than you — meaning you’re a fraud to begin with. You’re doing this little breakdown, this investigation, you just emailed me in a homosexual tone.”

To be honest, I don’t even know where to start with this. You can’t have “Coffee” in your handle unless you prove you’ve got a higher caffeine tolerance than Andrew Tate? Daring to scrutinize a man who has more legal troubles than Lamborghinis reveals his sexual preference? 

Even before knowing the exact nature of Coffeezilla’s investigation, we have an insight into how thin-skilled Andrew Tate really is — and ultimately, how little he cares for his community, as well as those who have invested in his tokens.

Tate’s toxic masculinity has preyed on the insecurities of disenfranchised young men around the world while his foray into crypto has dived into their wallets — creating a false illusion that they, too, will experience extreme wealth one day.

When you think about it, Tate’s branding and messaging are reminiscent of an era that most of the crypto world has been trying to move away from, when the ICO boom of 2017 was full of wild excesses along with never-ending images of fast cars and bundles of cash. 

In this battle, the crypto community needs to rally behind Coffeezilla — a man who has taken great risks to expose bad actors in the space and stand up for those who have lost their life savings to some of the industry’s most audacious scams. He, among others, serves as crypto’s immune system, with every investigation slowly chiseling away at the sector’s “Wild West” image and deterring opportunistic thieves planning to swindle unsuspecting victims.

The crypto community needs to distance itself from narcissists like Tate, who use homophobia as a weapon to deflect against their own shortcomings. Coffeezilla’s sexual orientation has zero relevance to the work he performs, and it’s shameful to think otherwise. Digital assets won’t ever achieve mass adoption if the influencers within this space denigrate innocent people who are doing nothing wrong.

And last but not least, the crypto community needs to realize that Andrew Tate and his coins represent everything that this innovative sector is not: hateful, harmful and dishonest. Engaging with him only drags down the rest of the industry.

Crypto is all about the future. Tate’s worldview belongs to the past.