In Mohali, Punjab, cybercriminals created a fake business group on Telegram and with a young man Rs. 2.45 lakhs cheated. The victim has complained about this in 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 affiliated with that group. Earnings of lakhs of rupees were claimed in this group. The group promised to make easy money at home through small jobs.
The first task the young man got was to book some rooms in a hotel. When he completed the task, he also received a payment of Rs 1,017. This was an income that was made sitting at home without doing much. Obviously, this fueled both his hopes and his greed.
After this, he was forced to deposit more money into his bank account, so that he could complete further tasks and the large amount 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 youth's account or mobile was hacked by scammers, about which the youth had no knowledge. Greed to earn a few rupees overcame him and he lost his hard earned money.
For some time now, cyber criminals have been using messaging apps like Telegram, WhatsApp to trap people. Scammers offer attractive offers to make quick money on these messaging apps, which is why most people fall into their trap.
So let's go In this work news Let's talk about how to recognize this scam happening through Telegram? You will also learn that-
- How do scammers make people their victims through Telegram?
- What precautions should be taken to avoid such scams?
Expert: Pawan Duggal, Cyber Security & AI Expert, New Delhi
Q- Why do scammers use Telegram for fraud?
Answer- Telegram is a very popular messaging app with over 10 crore active users in India. There are many reasons why Telegram can carry out scam events. such as-
- It can share larger files than WhatsApp. This is the reason why a large segment of Telegram users are students, who use it to share PDFs or videos related to exam preparation. It is easy for scammers to trick students with the promise of a job.
- In this, you can login to the app even without using a phone number. This makes it difficult to trace the user's identity.
- 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, file sharing make the scammer's job easier. With the help of this they can send their fake message to hundreds of people in one click.
Q- How do scammers do scams through Telegram?
Answer- Scammers use many methods to cheat people through Telegram. This includes things like phishing messages, job lures, investments or lotteries.
The graphic below shows some of the methods commonly used by scammers.
Fraud by creating a phishing link Scammers ask people to click on phishing links. These links often take users to fake websites that look similar to the real thing. It asks for login details or personal information. You should not click on any such link.
Cheating on the pretext of employment Most of the scams have been reported by promising jobs on Telegram. Scammers often post fake jobs to work from home or earn extra money in a few hours. They ask you to connect with the 'Hiring Manager' on Telegram. When you contact them they ask you to pay some amount in the name of training. This is a scammer's trap. One should never fall into this.
Q- How to identify a fake Telegram account or profile? Answer: Cyber security and AI expert Pawan Duggal says that it is very easy to identify a fake Telegram account or profile. A few things need to be checked for this. Understand it with the following indicators-
- Fake accounts often have obscure profile photos and bios.
- An unusual username can also be a sign of a fake Telegram account.
- By using the name of big companies, people are lured by the promise of jobs.
- Often, fake groups and channels are scammers who talk about getting jobs.
Apart from this there are some other signs by which a fake account can be identified. See this in the graphic below-
Q- What to do if you fall victim to Telegram scam?
Answer- Telegram has an official bot channel called 'No To Scam'. If you fall victim to any kind of scam on Telegram, you can report it.
For this, login to your Telegram account. After this go to chat section and search for '@notoscam' bot. This bot is called Report Impersonation and has a verified checkmark.
Tag the scammer's account or channel in the chat window. Then briefly explain why you're reporting them. After this Telegram team will help you.
Apart from this, contact the nearest cybercrime police station or helpline number 1930 if you are scammed.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
