Telegram is the 2nd most downloaded app globally and has 1 billion active MAU users. Its rapid rise and popularity have made it a tempting place for the scammers to run various types of scams. It has had a lot of controversies in the past and most of them have been around scams. So is the Telegram app safe, and given that scams will exist even on other platforms you migrate to, how do you ensure maximum digital safety within the app? Yes, it is safe if you know how to avoid common Telegram scams. Knowing how fraudsters operate on the app and how you can identify the scams will make your messaging experience smooth and easy.
Unexpected messages offering attractive opportunities
It’s common to see messages on Telegram that come from strangers stating that they have an exciting work opportunity or good financial advice for you. It could be in any form ranging from online gigs to remote jobs and crypto trading to exclusive deals. This is one of the biggest Telegram messenger scams, where messages are designed to evoke curiosity and prompt you to take urgent action lest you miss the opportunity.
The scammers will most probably say that they represent a popular trading platform, a big brand’s recruitment team or an online shopping platform. Staying safe is simple if you follow the scam warning signs mentioned on Moonlock cybersecurity blog. Some of the ways to ensure safety are to avoid any kind of contact with strangers, cross-checking company information and not sharing any financial information related to credit cards, banking or digital wallets. The mantra here is to tell yourself that reputed and established brands never offer any schemes, gigs or recruitment by approaching someone directly on a social media platform, and even if they do, it happens through a process and not in a state of urgency.
Requests for upfront payments
When there’s an exciting offer you want to go ahead with, the scammers will most likely ask you for an upfront payment, which is a certain percentage of the total payment. The fees that they ask you to pay to proceed with your job application, an investment return, or the gigs you completed for them or receive a reward are in the form of a registration fee or advance deposit.
In this Telegram fraud scheme, the scammer disappears the moment you make the payment. To be safe and not suffer any financial loss, never make any sort of advance payment to anyone.
Guaranteed profit promises
Various groups on Telegram where a scammer adds you are about crypto, stock or forex trading. Either they promise you guaranteed returns or they try to sell a trading bot. They provide you with real-like AI or modified videos and images that show high profits for people who bought their services. Words like ‘risk-free’ and ‘guaranteed daily profits’ are commonly used to build trust. Never fall for these, and even if it looks tempting, simply exit the group and block it.
Messages creating urgency
There will be opportunities that scammers will offer to you and ask for immediate action. They try to instill fear in you that missing the opportunity will mean that you won’t get it ever again. They show it as a one-time or limited-time offer exclusively offered to you. You must always pause before you act on these kinds of requests. Do not fall under the pressure that scammers create. It’s just their job.
Accounts with limited information
Is Telegram anonymous? No, it’s not because it allows you to set a detailed profile that you can set to public view. If someone is hiding or putting minimum details there, the intention is, of course, bad. Why is someone who has recently joined and has minimum details offering you something exciting? Do not trust such profiles and block them if you are not fully convinced.
Requests for sensitive personal information
A legit brand never asks for personal details on a social media platform. If someone asks for your ID, banking details or any of the verification codes, it’s certainly a scam that you need to stay safe from. Verified companies do not ask for such information on messaging apps like Telegram and especially not the login or verification codes.
Links to fake websites
Scammers send you links that reroute you to fake and scammy websites. They try to make sites legit where you have to fill out some form asking for your personal details. Look for signs like poor site design, lack of company details, logos that look poorly done and only a few webpages. These are 100% fake websites.
Fake customer support
In this type of Telegram scam, scammers mostly act as customer support agents of popular companies like Microsoft, Apple, HP, etc. They claim that an urgent account issue on your phone or PC has to be addressed. From there, they try to engineer you into clicking on a link or asking for money for the extended support. Beware! It’s not real because representatives from big brands do not call you up directly.
Moving conversations off the platform
Why would someone ask you to move off the platform when Telegram offers everything that a clear conversation needs? It is a scam if someone asks you to move to another messaging app. They want to skip the moderation that app does or the detection in the public eye on the groups. Stay on the platform and report such accounts.
Too-good-to-be-true promotions
Why do scammers use Telegram for giveaway scams? That’s because there are 20 bots allowed in a group with a total of 30 messages per second allowed. Scammers send messages in the group that are too good to be true. They evoke excitement and a sense of urgency in users. When others avail the offer, you might feel that you will miss out. Do not believe such deals and offers. No such deals exist in reality and going for it just because others are is a bad idea.
Conclusion
Telegram scams are common because of the app’s popularity among people around the world. It is indeed a safe app, but for ensuring a good and risk-free experience, follow the above rules. Learn to identify the signs of a scam and act wisely if you come across one.
Article written by Gabriel Jones
