I joined a Telegram "crypto group." They drained my wallet.

A private Telegram group promised VIP signals and a pooled contract that would "compound" deposits. I joined for charts and camaraderie, then approved a wallet transaction I did not fully read because the admins sounded like experts.

Daily bots posted green P&L screenshots stolen from real traders, and an influencer face I recognised from Twitter appeared in pinned messages—later I learned those images were ripped from someone else's feed. When I clicked their staking link, the interface asked for broad permissions.

The smart contract was malicious—one signature drained allowances overnight. The audit PDF was a forgery; on-chain tools later labelled the contract as a known drainer. Money moved to mixers before I finished coffee.

I wanted tribe and edge after a lonely winter, so I ignored friends who said Telegram money pools are radioactive.

Etherscan flagged internal transactions as a phishing drainer the morning after, too late to claw back funds but early enough to prove the group had never been trading—only harvesting.

I avoided the friends who had warned me, then had awkward apologies once the wallet was empty. Pride cost as much as the tokens.

I use a hardware wallet now, simulate transactions before signing, and refuse group chats that move money. I wish I had treated every signature like a wire authorization.

• Read contract source or rely on audits from sources you choose—not PDFs from admins.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.