UNIBOT is on fire, how to prevent phishing and scams related to Telegram bots?
How to prevent phishing and scams with Telegram bots amidst the rising popularity of UNIBOT?
After the market value of $UNIBOT surged from $30 million to $185 million (currently $110 million), players in the cryptocurrency market began to FOMO into Telegram bots and related tokens. $UNIBOT is a token issued by UNIBOT, which is a Telegram trading bot. Users can interact with the bot to monitor liquidity pools, trade tokens, and copy others’ trades.
As UNIBOT has gained more attention in the cryptocurrency market, various types of bots have emerged: LootBot is a bot that automatically searches for airdrops on different EVM chains. Bridge Bot aims to bridge users’ funds faster and more securely. MEVFree bot is designed to help users avoid MEV attacks during trading.
Today, let’s briefly discuss the popular Telegram bots and some security risks to be aware of.
Telegram Bots: Hype or Speculation?
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We can see that Telegram bots are programs running on Telegram, providing different types of crypto services to meet the needs of degenerate and airdrop players.
In the current bear market, many crypto users need to trade meme coins or dog coins in order to make several times or even dozens of times the profit. Many influential meme coins have emerged in 2023, such as $Pepe, $Ordi, $Aidoge.
UNIBOT happens to be “a dog coin exchange,” providing centralized exchange services for on-chain dog coin players, and its token $UNIBOT has skyrocketed by dozens of times. Investors or speculators may claim that on July 23rd, UNIBOT generated 24-hour revenue of 337.54 $ETH ($665,000), as shown in the graph below. Because UNIBOT charges a 5% sales tax when selling $UNIBOT tokens and a 1% trading fee when using UNIBOT for transactions, players who buy $UNIBOT tokens may think that UNIBOT is a project with real income.
https://dune.com/whale_hunter/unibot-revenue
However, about 80% of UNIBOT’s daily revenue comes from speculating on $UNIBOT, not from the use of UNIBOT. If the speculation on $UNIBOT stops, the daily income will decrease significantly. Currently, the average daily trading volume is about $4.6 million, and the trading fees amount to about $46,000. The circulation of $UNIBOT is 10 million, and the price of $UNIBOT is $110. The daily income per token is about $0.023, which actually indicates that $UNIBOT is not worth investing in at the moment.
https://dune.com/whale_hunter/unibot-revenue
Security Risks of Telegram Bots
1. Centralization
The risks of Telegram bots are the same as those of centralized exchanges. If users want to use Telegram bots, they need to import their private keys into these bots. During this process, other software may be able to read the users’ private keys from the clipboard. In addition, once users import their private keys into Telegram bots, their encrypted assets are no longer under their control.
2. Security Risks
Most Telegram bots are not open source and do not undergo third-party code audits. Potential vulnerabilities in bots can lead to asset loss. If a user’s Telegram account is compromised (phishing attacks against Telegram accounts do happen), the assets on the Telegram bot can also be controlled by hackers.
During the Telegram bot frenzy, phishing and scams related to Telegram bots have been continuously emerging. These bots claim to be automatic trading or front-running bots, enticing users to import their private keys and then transferring their funds without user consent.
How to Improve Telegram Bots?
1. Open Source
Telegram bots should be open source and undergo security audits. Users should understand the bot’s trading strategies or airdrop strategies through the code rather than relying solely on the project’s description.
2. Enhanced Security
Telegram bots need to consider private key protection and build a more secure operating environment. For example, it is recommended to use Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology when storing private keys and signing transactions. Telegram bots can consider adding functionalities to verify token contracts or collaborate with security companies to prevent users from participating in scams and exit scams, thereby protecting their assets.
In general, Telegram bots can be a powerful tool for traders, especially degen players, providing convenient and efficient crypto services. However, the associated tokens are not worth investing in. Users need to be aware of the risks associated with Telegram bots and should always exercise caution and conduct thorough research before using any trading bot.
