Zeros

Unpacking the Telegram Faucet Bot Mystery In recent months, Telegram users were greeted by an unexpected surge of cryptocurrency "faucet" bots—hundreds, perhaps thousands—all operating atop the TON blockchain. These bots claimed to dispense tiny amounts of Toncoin, but only after users paid absurd “gas fees” upfront. Yet withdrawals rarely worked—and then the bots disappeared, seemingly overnight. What Were These Bots? These so‑called faucets weren’t officially sanctioned. Instead, they seemed to be part of a broader scam ecosystem on Telegram, where bots spun mini‑games, wallet prompts, referral links—and siphoned real crypto in fees and deposits . Many of these schemes fall into classic exit‑scam or pyramid‑structure patterns, often launched by anonymous individuals or groups. It’s unclear if they were college assignments or passion projects by developers—their sudden disappearance suggests a cash‑out, rather than an academic pivot. Where Does the SEC Fit In? ...