A high-value Toncoin (TON) holder lost approximately $220,000 in an address poisoning scam, but in an unusual twist, the scammer returned the majority of the stolen funds. The whale accidentally sent 126,000 TON tokens to a fraudulent wallet address. The scammer subsequently returned 116,000 TON (worth about $203,000) while keeping 10,000 TON (roughly $17,000) as a self-described "reward" or "compensation."
The incident, detailed in posts by crypto user Adam Muhammad Mukhtar on X (formerly Twitter), unfolded through a classic address poisoning attack. The scammer first created a wallet address that looked nearly identical to one the whale was familiar with and sent a tiny TON transaction to the whale's wallet. This action placed the fraudulent address in the whale's transaction history.
When the whale later went to make a transfer, they mistakenly copied the scammer's address from their history, sending the entire 126,000 TON sum. The scammer, upon receiving the funds, attached a message to the return transaction stating, "Sorry, the money is too much. I know it's your hard-earned funds." This partial refund is exceptionally rare in crypto fraud cases, where victims typically suffer total losses.
The event has sparked widespread discussion within the crypto community, highlighting the persistent threat of address poisoning scams. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, such scams resulted in over $400 million in losses in 2025 alone. Security experts consistently warn users to verify the entire wallet address string before confirming any transaction, as blockchain transfers are irreversible.
