Friends, today I want to share a story that made me believe in miracles for half an hour. And at the same time, I'll break down a new scam scheme that showed me that criminals are evolving too.
The classics of the genre no longer surprise us
I'll be honest: I've always been interested in detective stories and puzzles, so it's interesting to analyze stories of attempted scams. Not the act of fraud itself—that's an evil I absolutely do not support—but the creativity of the approach. Because most schemes are so banal that you wonder: does anyone still fall for this?
'Bank security service,' 'flower delivery with an SMS from Gosuslugi,' 'called a number and broke the database'—these are already classics, and bad ones at that. But today I encountered something new. And you know what? There's a lot about this scheme that I still don't understand.
When a stranger offers a lot of money for your username
Imagine: a normal day, I'm on Telegram (I've been on it for a long time and have several accounts for various experimental purposes) and I get a message from a stranger with a nice photo, a purchased subscription, and they're even communicating in English. A good start, isn't it?
It turns out the person wants to buy my Telegram username. To be honest, I didn't even know that was possible. But logic suggested: people buy domains, phone numbers, car license plates—so why not resell usernames? (Old-timers will probably remember the days when people hunted for short ICQ numbers).
I quickly Googled the topic. Indeed, there is an official service, Fragment.com, integrated with Telegram, that works with TON coins. Everything looks solid. The prices for interesting usernames, especially those related to brands, are truly impressive.
After a short chat, I ask how much the person wants to offer, and the buyer names a figure: 3300 TON. I don't follow cryptocurrency exchange rates and have no idea if that's a lot or a little.
I go to check the exchange rate and... $9500! Nine and a half thousand dollars for a useless username! The thought instantly pops into my head: 'Congratulations, you've won the lottery!'
When doubt battles hope
You know that feeling? When common sense screams 'it's a scam!' but your inner voice whispers 'what if I got lucky?' It's like Achilles before Troy—only instead of glory, money was at stake.
The habit of being suspicious of everything saves you 99% of the time (thank you, life, for this useful skill). But the belief in miracles hasn't gone away either. Fortunately, I'm a meticulous and stubborn person. My wife is lucky to have a husband like me, right? 😄
So I decided to act scientifically: since I don't know how it works, let them explain. I asked the buyer to describe the procedure and send instructions.
The devil is in the details, or how the new scheme works
They sent me a video of a 'successful transaction' and a brief instruction. It all looked convincing. But when I suggested conducting the transaction through the official Fragment service, the other person agreed too quickly. That should have been a red flag.
'I'll create a smart contract request,' he writes. 'It's the same as through the platform, but without an auction.'
And indeed, a request arrives. But not from the official Telegram bot, but from a regular account with a 'verification checkmark'.
When you click the button, it warns you that it's a mini app.
Since we want to investigate, we launch it, of course (you better not do this!!).
The application is well-made and resembles the official site.
But as they say, the devil is in the details. I clicked on all the buttons (as someone who also tries to write apps and bots, I found it very interesting).
When I clicked the first link, 'Top,' everything was displayed correctly from the official site, but the other buttons let the developers down and showed me something that shouldn't have been there.
Not Found The requested URL was not found on this server. Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu) Server at sub33.testoffer.bet Port 80
What you should actually pay attention to:
Of course, the wallet, it's not yours) (What's hidden inside the wallet is next and quite interesting)
@NewRequestInfoRobot — definitely doesn't look like an official Telegram account
sub33.testoffer.bet — a highly suspicious domain for an official bot
Before buying/selling/exchanging or performing any operation, read more about it, gather as much information as possible, consult with friends, and take a 'break' so that the decision is not impulsive.
So what's wrong with that account?!
The most shocking discovery awaited me when I decided to examine the recipient's wallet. It contained $3.7 million! For a second, the thought even crossed my mind: 'Maybe you're really an idiot, and people actually buy usernames for that kind of money?'
But after studying the transaction history, I understood the scheme. Many small amounts, similar transactions—people were sending the entire contents of their crypto wallets to the scammers themselves through the fake application.
Elegant, isn't it? No one is forced or threatened—they simply create a perfect imitation of the official service and allow the victims to send the money themselves.
The evolution of fraud: from crude schemes to high technology
What's striking about this story? The level of detail. Whereas scammers used to rely on haste and panic ('your card has been blocked!'), now they play on greed and technological illiteracy.
A whole ecosystem is created: fake websites, bots, applications. Real services are studied, their functionality is copied. This is no longer Uncle Vasya from the back alley with a fake passport—these are IT teams with a decent budget.
And you know what the scariest part is? The scheme works. $3.7 million in one wallet is no joke.
Conclusions: scammers are evolving, but the principles remain
The world of fraud is changing. Primitive schemes are being replaced by complex technological projects. Criminals study psychology, use social engineering, and create high-quality content.
But the essence remains the same: they play on our weaknesses. Greed, fear, the desire for easy money, technological illiteracy.
The story of selling the username showed me: modern scammers are not necessarily illiterate amateurs. They can be true professionals in their field. And the only defense against them is knowledge, caution, and healthy skepticism.
P.S. If anyone knows why they were reselling usernames to themselves to drive up the price and how that works, please write in the comments. (Money laundering?)