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Telegram Gift Scams: How to Spot Them

Six common Telegram gift scams — fake mini apps, fake support, login-code theft, wallet drainers, “send first” deals and fake giveaways — and what to do if you were caught.

GiftsWatch team · Sources and methodology

Updated

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How Telegram gift scams work

The schemes below go after one of three things: your Telegram login code, your TON wallet (its recovery phrase or a transaction you sign), or a gift you send before you are paid. Telegram says login codes must never be shared with anyone, and Getgems says it never asks for your recovery phrase.

Collectible gifts are a target because they have a market price. Once a gift or an NFT is transferred, only its new owner can send it back.

1. Fake mini apps and clone sites

A clone copies a marketplace's name, logo and design and sits behind a similar address: a bot username with an extra letter or suffix, or a domain that looks like fragment.com. In November 2025 Tonnel warned about a fake channel, @giftrelayer_1, imitating its real deposit account @giftrelayer.

How to recognise it: compare the exact username or domain with the one listed in the marketplace's official channel. Portals' official accounts are @portals for the app, @GiftsToPortals for gift deposits and @portals_help_bot for support. Tonnel's market opens inside @tonnel_network_bot. Getgems works at getgems.io and in @GetgemsNftBot. Fragment is only fragment.com.

Watch Business bot connections too. Some marketplaces move several gifts at once through a Telegram Business bot, and such a bot can transfer your gifts. Tonnel says its real bot sends a confirmation message right after you connect it; if none arrives, remove the bot. Disconnect it when you finish.

What to do: open the marketplace from a bookmark or by typing the bot name in Telegram search, not from a link someone sent you. If the address differs by a single character, close it.

Checklist

Before you pay, sign or send

  • The bot username or domain matches the marketplace's official channel.
  • Nobody asked for my login code or recovery phrase.
  • I read the wallet confirmation: amount, assets and recipient.
  • The deal goes through a marketplace or Telegram's Offer to Buy, not “send first”.
  • Two-step verification is on in my Telegram account.

2. Fake support and fake “Telegram” accounts

A scammer writes first, posing as Telegram, a marketplace's support or an admin. A typical message claims a problem, for example a blocked gift or a stuck deposit, and asks you to act fast: log in somewhere, connect a wallet or send the gift for a check.

How to recognise it: Telegram support answers inside the app (Settings > Ask a Question) and relies on volunteers. Apart from @smstelegram on X for login problems, Telegram says it has no support accounts on social media. Its own notifications come from the official “Telegram” service chat with a blue check. Getgems says its team never writes to users first; its support is @nfton_bot.

What to do: do not reply or follow the links. Contact support yourself through the official address. If someone impersonates you, Telegram asks you to report it to @NoToScam.

3. Requests for your login code

Telegram sends account login codes to the official “Telegram” chat in your app, marked with a blue check. Whoever has that code, plus your password if you set one, can log in to your account and transfer your gifts. Telegram says these codes should never be shared with anyone, including other services or apps.

How to recognise it: for example, a “buyer” asks you to forward a code to “confirm” you, or a website asks for your phone number and then for the code from the Telegram chat. Codes from other services arrive in a separate “Verification Codes” chat; if you did not request one, Telegram advises tapping it and choosing Report.

What to do: turn on two-step verification (Settings > Privacy and Security > Two-Step Verification) so a code alone is not enough to log in. You can also add a passkey in Settings > Privacy and Security > Passkeys.

4. Wallet drainers

A drainer is a page or mini app that asks you to connect a TON wallet and then sign a transaction that sends your Gram (TON's coin, called Toncoin until June 2026), tokens or NFT gifts to the scammer. It may pose as an airdrop, a free gift or a token migration. When the rename was announced in June 2026, TON's official channel warned that any site, bot or link asking you to “claim GRAM” or “migrate TON” is a scam.

How to recognise it: connecting a wallet does not hand over your funds; the risk is the transaction you approve next. Read what the wallet shows before you approve it: the amount, the assets and the recipient. Fragment advises checking that you connected the right wallet and use it for every QR confirmation.

What to do: your recovery phrase gives full access to the wallet, so never type it into a site, bot or form. Getgems says it never asks for it, and Fragment says it never stores or comes into contact with private credentials. Reject any transaction you did not start or do not understand. Blockchain transfers cannot be reversed.

5. “Send first” private deals

A buyer or seller contacts you in private messages and asks you to move first: send the gift before payment, or pay before you receive the gift. They may show a fake payment screenshot, offer an “escrow” they control, or ask you to transfer the gift to a “guarantor”.

How to recognise it: one side has to trust the other's promise. Telegram built gift offers for this case: open the gift, tap Offer to Buy, and set a price in Stars or TON and a time limit. Telegram reserves the buyer's payment and transfers the gift automatically when the owner accepts; if the offer is declined or expires, the payment is refunded in full.

What to do: trade through Telegram's marketplace, its offers or a marketplace that holds the payment until the gift moves. Check the gift's number and attributes yourself before you pay.

6. Fake gift giveaways

A post or message says you won a rare gift, Stars or Premium. To “claim” it you must pay a fee, connect a wallet, enter a login code or send a gift for “verification”.

How to recognise it: in Telegram's built-in Premium giveaways, a channel prepays the subscriptions, Telegram picks the winners at random and delivers the prizes itself. Nothing in that process asks a winner to pay, connect a wallet or share a code.

What to do: ignore “you won” messages from accounts you do not know. When a channel runs a real giveaway, the result appears in Telegram itself.

If you were scammed

Act quickly, in this order:

  • Telegram account: open Settings > Devices and end every session you do not recognise, then turn on two-step verification or change its password.
  • Wallet: if you shared your recovery phrase, create a new wallet and move what is left into it at once. Nobody can restore a wallet or reverse a blockchain transfer.
  • Report: use Report on the scam account or message in Telegram. If someone impersonates you, contact @NoToScam. Write to the marketplace's official support with the gift number, wallet addresses and the time.
  • Keep evidence: screenshots, usernames, links and transaction IDs.
  • GiftsWatch cannot recover gifts. To report a data error on GiftsWatch, use the contact page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a Telegram gift deal is a scam?

Watch for three signs: someone asks for your login code or recovery phrase, the link differs from the marketplace's official address, or you are asked to send or pay first outside a marketplace or Telegram's Offer to Buy.

Can a scammer steal my gifts with a login code?

Yes. Whoever logs in to your account can transfer your collectible gifts. Never share login codes, and turn on two-step verification so a code alone is not enough.

Is it safe to connect my wallet to a gift marketplace?

Connecting is not the risky step; signing is. Use only the marketplace's official address, read each confirmation in the wallet and reject anything you did not start.

Can I get a stolen Telegram gift back?

Usually not. A transferred gift belongs to its new owner, and Fragment notes that blockchain transfers are permanent. Report the account in Telegram and to the marketplace involved, with the gift number and time.

How do I report a Telegram scammer?

Open the message, tap Report and choose a reason. If someone pretends to be you, contact @NoToScam. For a marketplace deal, also write to that marketplace's official support.

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Sources

Primary sources consulted

  1. Telegram FAQ: login codes, two-step verification, supportTelegram · checked
  2. Passkeys, Gift Purchase Offers and MoreTelegram · checked
  3. Telegram Gifts: sending, resale, offers, transfer and exportTelegram API documentation · checked
  4. Giveaways in Channels and Free PremiumTelegram · checked
  5. How Fragment works: wallet, auctions, 5% feeFragment · checked
  6. How not to get scammed: official accountsGetgems Help Center · checked
  7. Getgems never asks for your recovery phraseGetgems Help Center · checked
  8. Getgems at getgems.io and @GetgemsNftBotGetgems Help Center · checked
  9. Toncoin rename: “claim GRAM” links are scamsGram of TON (official channel) · checked
  10. Toncoin renamed Gram on 15 June 2026Gram of TON (official channel) · checked
  11. Portals official linksPortals Community · checked
  12. Fake @giftrelayer_1 warningTonnel Network · checked
  13. Check the Business bot confirmation messageTonnel Network · checked