After many users raised concerns about the withdrawals, a Telegram mini-app called TON Turbo started cleaning up their digital tracks.
TON Turbo, a project built on The Open Network, offers users so-called Toncoin (TON) mining rigs that allow them to make profits by depositing cryptocurrencies through a Telegram chat window. The mining rigs promise an almost double return on the initial capital and the opportunity to earn TON and the well-known memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB).
However, several aspiring miners using the platform reported difficulties in withdrawing, with responses on the project’s Telegram channel suggesting that the deposit mechanism is a one-way street.
Furthermore, TON is a proof-of-stake blockchain, where validators are the key network participants. Mining usually refers to proof-of-work networks like Bitcoin, where participants, called miners, validate transactions and discover new coins.
Once users sent cryptocurrencies to the virtual mining facility, it seemed to yield profits over time, but withdrawing the profits was impossible. When users pointed out the problem, TON Turbo disabled customer support and locked its chat rooms.
The protocol closed responses between July 27 and August 5, but the team continued to release promotional updates on X and Telegram.
TON Turbo scares customers away
TON Turbo claimed to have secured several notable partnerships, including with The Open Network, Tonkeeper, Telegram mini-game Dogs, and Shiba Inu.
These claims have not been verified and crypto.news could not find any evidence of said partnerships outside of TON Turbo’s announcements. Requests for comment to TON Turbo administrators remained unanswered at press time.
Furthermore, the project deleted its X-page, which no longer exists. Its Telegram channel has over 54,889 members and at least 10,600 online users. When crypto.news last checked the channel on August 15, the replies were mostly filled with angry users calling the project a scam.
Project administrators had deleted their Telegram accounts and the private social network labeled updates on TON Turbo’s channel as “scams.”
Social media and the project’s Telegram channel suggested that hundreds to thousands of investors attempted to exploit the alleged Telegram mining rig. How many users may have suffered losses is unknown, and how much was lost in this apparent exit scam remains to be seen.
