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- Got caught here: scammers have found a new way to cheat Hamster Kombat players
Got caught here: scammers have found a new way to cheat Hamster Kombat players
In the summer of 2026, scams related to the Hamster Kombat game intensified: dozens of Telegram channels with variations of its name and websites offering to profitably sell or exchange HMSTR tokens appeared. The main reason was the announcement of the Gram crypto wallet in Telegram — until users figured out how it worked, scammers offered them to "transfer hamsters" to a new wallet. The jumps in the HMSTR rate in the summer also fueled interest. How these schemes work is described in the Izvestia material.
A crypto wallet as a bait
The scammers took on the holders of HMSTR tokens after Pavel Durov (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) announced the Gram wallet. The attackers took advantage of the fact that users still did not fully understand how it works. The situation with the token's exchange rate, which has been jumping all summer, also helped them: on June 12, HMSTR rose in price by about 30%, on July 4 — by almost 40%, and on August 9 it rose to $0.00027. The capitalization of the project is small — $11.6 million.
Hamster Kombat is a Telegram game launched in 2024: users "tapped" the screen for in-game coins, and later received an HMSTR token for sale and exchange on crypto platforms. Despite the faded hype, HMSTR continues to trade, and fluctuations in the exchange rate attract the attention of former players.
According to Maxim Abramov, head of the Laboratory of Applied Artificial Intelligence at the St. Petersburg Institute of Physics and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the number of "Hamster Kombat" search queries in Russia has increased by more than 5,000% over the past month, both compared to the previous month and the same period last year. Interest in the query "how to withdraw money" has also increased dramatically.
— When it became known about the launch of the Gram wallet, users did not understand what was happening, what kind of wallet it was and what should appear in it. Against this background, a wave of fraud appeared, which Hamster Kombat just got into," Vladimir Zykov, director of projects at ANO Digital Platforms, told Izvestia.
According to him, users were offered to check the HMSTR balance in a new wallet, transfer tokens there, withdraw them or exchange them on favorable terms. At the same time, the scammers registered domains and Telegram channels with variations of Gram and Hamster Kombat, promising to "bring out hamsters" or exchange them profitably. Dozens of such channels appeared in the summer, Igor Bederov, the founder of the Internet Search company, confirmed.
After clicking on the link, the user is directed to a fake exchange, bot, or wallet connection page, where they are asked to log in or confirm the operation. If a Telegram account is attacked, the victim is asked for a phone number, a confirmation code, and a two-step authentication password. After receiving them, the scammers take over the account and send offers to his contacts.
— As soon as the token rate jumps, links to fake bots and websites appear in Telegram channels and chat rooms promising to profitably sell hamster coin or urgently withdraw coins. The victim provides a phone number and a confirmation code, through which the scammers gain access to the account, Maxim Abramov said.
Next, social engineering is used: "users" appear in chat rooms who have allegedly already withdrawn money, and scammers offer the victim assistance with the exchange. The fear of missing out is also pressing — a sharp rise in the exchange rate creates the feeling that action needs to be taken immediately.
The target may be more than just a Telegram account: when connecting a wallet, you may be asked to enter a seed phrase or sign a transaction, disguised as allowing a malicious smart contract to dispose of tokens.
The phishing infrastructure named "Hamster Kombat" continues to work: according to Solar AURA (Solar Group), one of the project's domains was marked by 17 out of 91 antiviruses at the end of July, and Cloudflare Radar classified it as phishing.
How to lose your wallet instead of selling tokens
The discontent of Hamster Kombat players is recorded in various social networks, especially in thematic cryptochats.
"I stopped tapping the hamster back in 2025, but when the currency rose in June 2026, I decided to try again, without the same fanaticism. I think you can earn something from it, especially if you automate the process," one of the players said anonymously.
According to the website "Failure.Russian Federation", on August 20, Russian users again had problems accessing the game — more than two dozen complaints were received.
ROCIT receives complaints about digital fraud, including Telegram — there really is a trend, scammers quickly adapt to the new functions of popular platforms, especially Telegram with its huge audience, said Mikhail Shurygin, chairman of the ROCIT commission on cloud technologies and information security.
Such attacks are typical for the crypto market as a whole, notes Ruslan Dynda, an analyst at Alfa-Capital Management Company: in 2025, losses from cryptoviruses amounted to $83.85 million for 106 thousand wallets.
— It's wise to ignore strange buyout offers: a normal deal doesn't start with the fact that a stranger with a good course wrote to you first. The main marker is urgency: a two—hour window and a countdown are needed to disable the victim's verification," said Dynda.
You should sell HMSTR only through a service that you have opened yourself — through the official app, a saved bookmark, or a verified address entered manually. The seed phrase, private key, Telegram login codes, and backup two-factor authentication codes must not be passed on to outsiders. Before confirming the transaction, you need to check the network, the recipient's address, the amount and the requested permissions. If it is not clear what exactly you are signing, you should cancel the operation. For unfamiliar exchangers, experts recommend using a separate wallet with a small balance.
— In early August, there was indeed a noticeable surge in HMSTR trading, but this is more a short-term revival of interest in the low-liquid token than a full-fledged return of the project. It is precisely such sudden movements that are attractive to scammers: they create the feeling that "the hamster has grown again" and there is a chance to make quick money," explained Yuri Tyurin, Technical director of MD Audit (Softline Group).
Back in 2024, Kaspersky Lab specialists identified a scheme where users were offered to convert game coins into rubles through authorization in Telegram. In 2026, similar resources for HMSTR sales are also found, but less frequently than two years earlier, said Olga Altukhova, an expert at the company.
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