In Mohali, Punjab, cybercriminals created a fake business group on Telegram and cheated a young man of over Rs 2.45 lakh. The victim filed a complaint with the cyber police station.
The young man said that he received a message on Telegram, through which he was added to a business group. 78 people were already connected to this group. Claims of earning thousands of rupees were made in this group. The group promised to earn easy money at home through small tasks.
The young man was first given the task of reserving rooms in a hotel. When he completed the task, he also received a payment of Rs 1,017. This was income earned at home without doing much. Obviously, this increased both his hope and his greed.
After that, he was pushed to deposit more money into his bank account, so that he could complete other tasks and a large sum could be transferred to his account. As soon as he transferred money to his account several times, Rs 2 lakh, 45 thousand 302 disappeared from his account.
It is possible that the scammers have already hacked the young man’s account or mobile, of which the young man had no knowledge. The greed to earn a few rupees overwhelmed him and he even lost his hard-earned money.
For some time now, cybercriminals have been using messaging apps like Telegram, WhatsApp to trap people. Scammers offer tempting offers to make quick money on these messaging apps, due to which most people fall into their trap.
So, let’s talk in this important news about how to identify this scam that is happening through Telegram? You will also learn that-
How do scammers make victims via Telegram? What precautions should be taken to avoid such scams?
Expert: Pawan Duggal, cybersecurity and AI expert, New Delhi
Question: Why do fraudsters use Telegram to commit fraud?
Answer – Telegram is a very popular messaging app, which has over 10 million active users in India. There are many reasons to commit scam incidents via Telegram. Such as-
In this, larger files can be shared than WhatsApp. This is the reason why a large portion of Telegram users are students, who use it to share PDFs or videos related to exam preparation. It is easy for scammers to cheat students out of jobs. In this, one can log in to the app even without using the phone number. It is therefore difficult to find the identity of the user. Telegram is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, where no third party can monitor your data. Therefore, it is easy for scammers to contact users directly on their numbers. Options like group chat and file sharing make the job of fraudsters easier. With this, they can send their fake message to hundreds of people with just one click.
Question: How do fraudsters carry out fraud incidents via Telegram?
Answer – Fraudsters adopt many methods to defraud people through Telegram. This includes things like phishing messages, job lure, investment or lottery.
The graphic below shows some of the methods commonly used by fraudsters.
Cheat by creating a phishing link
Scammers ask people to click on phishing links. These links often direct users to fake websites that look like the real ones. Login information or personal information is requested. You must not click on such a link.
cheating under the pretext of work
Most scam cases are reported on Telegram by job promises. Scammers often post fake jobs to work from home or to earn more money in a few hours. They ask you to connect with a “hiring manager” on Telegram. When you contact them, they ask you to make a payment on behalf of the training. It’s a trap for scammers. You should never get caught up in this.
Question: How to identify a fake Telegram account or profile?
Answer- Cybersecurity and AI expert Pawan Duggal says that it is very easy to identify a fake Telegram account or profile. For this it is important to check certain things. Understand it with the pointers below-
Fake accounts often have vague profile photos and bios. Unusual usernames can also be a sign of a fake Telegram account. Big company names are used to lure people into job scams. Often, fake groups and channels only have a few fraudulent people. . There are those who talk about finding a job.
Apart from this, there are other signs to identify fake accounts. See this in the graph below-
Question: What to do if you are a victim of a Telegram scam?
Answer: Telegram has an official bot channel named “No Scam”. If you are a victim of any scam on Telegram, you can report it.
To do this, log in to your Telegram account. After that, go to the chat section and search for the “@notoscam” bot. The name of this bot is Report Impersonation and it has a verified check mark.
Mark the scammers account or channel in the chat window. Then briefly explain why you are reporting them. After that, the Telegram team will help you.
Apart from this, if you fall victim to a scam, contact the nearest cyber crime station or helpline number 1930.
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