Millions of Stars Illegally Refunded
The cancellations were triggered by attackers who requested refunds for Telegram Stars previously used to purchase and upgrade collectible gifts. By the time of the refund, these assets could have already been sold or transferred to other users. While such gifts are not removed from collections, they can no longer be upgraded or used in any functional way.
According to analysts, at least 3,337 gift owners were affected. Among them were users who purchased gifts on the secondary market or bought Stars “off-market,” which were later subject to refunds. The losses are estimated to be in the millions of Telegram Stars.
Giftstat.com specifies that the total value of the canceled gifts amounted to 2,995,380 Stars, equivalent to about $45,000. On the secondary market, these gifts were being sold for less—around 10,608 TON, which translates to about $41,000 as of April 2 and roughly $38,000 as of April 3. For instance, popular gifts like Homemade Cake were sold significantly below Telegram’s original price. Analysts attribute this to fraudsters attempting to quickly monetize the gifts while also initiating refunds for the Stars.
One common scheme involved transferring a gift from one account to another, then exchanging it for Stars and requesting a refund from the original account. This vulnerability has reportedly been partially blocked in recent days. However, Telegram has now introduced automatic deductions from current gift owners when Stars are refunded.
There were also instances where “black market” services processed large-scale Star refunds. In one case, according to Durov’s Code, the refund totaled the equivalent of $50,000. The owners of these Stars were left either with a negative balance or without the items they had previously purchased.
The analytics team at Giftstat.com, which is part of the 42 Club, believes Telegram must urgently implement protection mechanisms for users in this market. In a statement, they said:
“We believe the abuse of the Telegram Stars refund system negatively impacts the secondary market and undermines the investment appeal of the primary market.”
Analysts also noted that currently only about 7% of gifts have been migrated to the TON blockchain. However, in light of recent events, a significant increase in such transactions is expected, as blockchain is viewed as a more secure method of asset storage and protection.