Quick Answer
Yes — overall, Telegram’s own in-app Gift Marketplace (Settings → Gifts → Marketplace) is safe to use as designed. Specifically, trades there are handled entirely by Telegram using Stars: you pay, Telegram transfers the collectible, and as a result there’s no window for one side to walk away with both the item and the money. However, the real risk sits outside that flow — for instance, peer-to-peer deals in DMs or channels, third-party TON marketplaces that ask you to connect a crypto wallet, and clone bots impersonating those platforms. In fact, almost every reported Telegram gift scam happens in that outside layer, not inside Telegram’s own marketplace.
Key Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official marketplace launched | May 9, 2025 |
| Where to find it | Settings → Gifts → Marketplace, inside the Telegram app |
| Currency used | Telegram Stars |
| What’s actually tradable | Only upgraded collectible gifts (NFTs on TON) — standard gifts can’t be resold |
| Underlying blockchain | TON (The Open Network); its native token was renamed from Toncoin to Gram on June 15, 2026 by community vote — balances are unaffected |
| Major third-party marketplaces | Portals, Tonnel, MRKT, Getgems |
| Official marketplace protection | Built-in — Telegram handles both sides of the trade atomically |
| Third-party marketplace protection | Depends on that platform’s own smart contract and reputation — not backed by Telegram directly |
| Highest-risk activity | Peer-to-peer trades outside any marketplace, and connecting a wallet to an unverified bot |
What Is the Telegram Gift Marketplace, Exactly?
Originally, Telegram Gifts started as a simple emotional gesture — pay Stars, send a badge, it shows up on someone’s profile with no resale value. Later, that changed when Telegram added collectible upgrades: for extra Stars, a regular gift can be converted into a unique NFT on the TON blockchain, complete with randomly rolled traits (background, symbol, model, number) that determine its rarity and resale value.
Once a gift is upgraded, it can then be sold three ways:
- Telegram’s own in-app marketplace (Settings → Gifts → Marketplace) — list it, price it in Stars, and Telegram handles the exchange.
- Third-party TON marketplaces — for example, Portals, Tonnel, MRKT, and Getgems are the established venues where gifts also trade once withdrawn to a TON wallet.
- Direct wallet-to-wallet transfer — in other words, sending the NFT to someone else’s TON wallet outside any marketplace at all.
Of these, only the first option is something Telegram itself guarantees. Consequently, the other two are where nearly every scam pattern below actually happens.
Why the Official Marketplace Is Safe by Design
Inside Settings → Gifts → Marketplace, a sale is atomic: specifically, the buyer’s Stars and the seller’s gift move in the same transaction, handled by Telegram’s own systems. Because of this, there’s no step where you send payment and then wait, hope, or trust the other person to follow through — which is exactly the step every advance-fee scam depends on. So, if you only ever buy and sell through this screen, you’re operating inside Telegram’s actual guarantee, not someone’s word.
Overall, that’s the single most useful thing to take from this article: “is the marketplace safe” and “is trading gifts safe” are two different questions, and in fact almost every scam story you’ll find online is actually about the second one.
Where It Actually Goes Wrong
Peer-to-peer deals outside the marketplace
Typically, someone in a Telegram trading group or channel offers a rare gift for less than the visible floor price, but insists on trading directly instead of through the official marketplace — “faster,” “no fees,” “I don’t want to pay the listing cut.” Once you send Stars or crypto first, though, there’s no built-in mechanism to get it back if they don’t deliver.
Wallet-connect prompts from unfamiliar bots
Generally, third-party marketplaces require connecting a TON wallet (Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, etc.) to trade. That’s normal for the legitimate platforms — but it’s also exactly what a malicious “drainer” bot needs. For instance, a fake bot posing as a giveaway, an airdrop, or even a cloned version of a real marketplace can present a wallet-approval request that, once signed, empties the wallet rather than completing a trade.
Clone bots impersonating real marketplaces
Often, bot usernames can be copied with a single character changed — an extra underscore, a swapped letter, a different capitalization. As a result, a clone of a trusted relayer bot looks identical in a chat screenshot and can collect a “deposit” that never gets returned.
Fake “Telegram Support” contact
Sometimes an account or bot DMs you first, unprompted, offering to help with a stuck trade, a lost gift, or a marketplace dispute. Since Telegram doesn’t proactively message users about individual gift trades, this is impersonation, and it usually ends with a request for your login code.
Warning Signs of a Telegram Gift Scam
- You’re asked to pay or send the gift first, outside the official marketplace. Essentially, this means no escrow and no protection — the classic advance-fee setup.
- A bot asks you to “connect your wallet” to claim a free gift or check your collection’s value. In other words, free giveaways that require a wallet connection are the standard drainer setup, not a bonus feature.
- The deal moves off Telegram entirely — for example, into a “trusted middleman” account, a Discord server, or an external website link.
- The bot or channel username is a near-identical copy of a known platform. Therefore, always check it against the real marketplace’s own official links, not a link someone sent you.
- A “support” account messages you first, unprompted, offering to resolve a dispute or recover a gift.
- You’re asked to enter a login or authorization code into a bot to “verify” your account before a trade. In reality, this hands over account access — it verifies nothing.
- The price is dramatically below the visible floor on the official marketplace or major third-party venues. Typically, underpriced-to-the-point-of-suspicious listings are either stolen items or bait.
- Pressure and urgency — “only 2 minutes left,” “someone else is buying right now.” Indeed, this tactic shows up across nearly every Telegram scam category, not just gifts.
How to Verify a Gift Marketplace or Bot Is Legitimate
- Default to the official in-app marketplace for buying and selling — after all, it’s the only option Telegram itself guarantees.
- If you use a third-party platform, navigate to it from the platform’s own official channel or website, typed or bookmarked yourself — never a link forwarded in a DM or posted in an unrelated channel.
- Treat every wallet-connection request as a real financial decision. Specifically, read what permissions are being requested, and don’t approve broad or unlimited access just to move faster.
- Revoke wallet connections after you’re done trading, through your wallet app’s connected-sites or connected-apps settings, rather than leaving old approvals active indefinitely.
- Never enter your Telegram login code anywhere except Telegram’s own login screen, since no legitimate marketplace, bot, or support account needs it to complete a trade.
What to Do If You’ve Already Been Scammed
- Revoke any wallet connections immediately through your wallet app, even if the trade seemed to go through.
- Next, check your Telegram account for unfamiliar active sessions — after all, if a login code was compromised, this is how you’d catch it. Our Telegram active sessions guide walks through reviewing and removing devices you don’t recognize.
- Then, tighten your account security — specifically, two-step verification and the rest of the settings in our Telegram privacy settings guide reduce what a scammer can do even if they got partial access.
- Also, report the bot or channel to Telegram using the in-app Report function on that chat.
- If your account itself was compromised, not just a trade gone wrong, see our guide on what to do with a hacked Telegram account.
- Above all, don’t pay anyone who contacts you offering to “recover” your funds. Indeed, this is a common follow-up scam targeting people who already lost money once.
- Finally, file a report with your local cybercrime or consumer-fraud authority if real money was involved — since Stars and crypto payments are generally not reversible, recovery through official channels is the realistic path, not a guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Telegram’s Gift Marketplace legit?
Yes. Specifically, trades made inside Settings → Gifts → Marketplace are handled directly by Telegram using Stars, with no step where one side can walk away with both the payment and the item.
Can someone steal my gift just by messaging me?
No — messaging alone can’t take anything. Instead, the risk starts when you click a bot link, connect a wallet, or send payment outside the official marketplace.
Are third-party marketplaces like Portals or Tonnel scams?
Not inherently — overall, they’re established, widely used venues in the Telegram gift ecosystem. However, they’re third-party platforms with their own smart contracts, not backed by Telegram’s own guarantee, so the same wallet-connection caution that applies to any crypto platform applies here too.
What’s the safest way to sell a gift?
Simply list it through Telegram’s own in-app marketplace. After all, it’s the only route where Telegram itself, rather than a third party or another user, is responsible for completing the exchange.
Can I get my money back if I’m scammed in a peer-to-peer deal?
Generally, no. Since Stars and TON payments aren’t typically reversible once sent, avoiding pay-first, no-escrow deals matters more than trying to recover funds afterward.
Is the TON-to-Gram token rename a scam?
No. In fact, the native token of the TON blockchain was renamed from Toncoin to Gram on June 15, 2026, following a community vote — balances and values carried over unchanged. So, it’s a legitimate rebrand, not something to be suspicious of on its own.
Azam Malik is the founder and author of DeleteAccountGuide.com, where he creates easy-to-follow guides for deleting online accounts safely and protecting digital privacy. With experience in SEO, content strategy, and user-focused website development, he specializes in creating simple step-by-step tutorials that help users manage and remove their online accounts without confusion.
