Table of contents

  • Use Telegram login code to take screenshots of your phone

  • Scam messages sent by fake Telegram channels

  • Third-party applications with backdoors

  • Malicious Telegram Chinese language pack

  • Telegram bot gets your password

  • Coin circle scam

  • Turn on two-factor authentication

  • Use third-party clients with caution

  • Don't send your personal information to Telegram bots

  • Be careful when receiving private messages from strangers

  • Check wallet address

  • Regularly check the devices logged into Telegram

  • Don't share your phone number when adding contacts

  • Hide your phone number and add restrictions on joining groups

How to avoid Telegram scams?

Recently, many KOLs have said that they have been defrauded, which is so difficult! Hope there won't be any big losses.

It just so happens that I have been targeted by scammers recently, but luckily I caught them. In response to the recent Telegram account theft incident, we have listed common Telegram scams. If necessary, you can share them with friends in the cryptocurrency circle.

Get your phone screen using Telegram login code

Recently, there is a relatively new scam in which scammers pretend to be friends and take screenshots of Telegram chat records for various reasons. There seems to be no danger, but at this moment, scammers are trying to log into Telegram using your mobile number. When a screenshot is sent with a login code, the scammer will use it to successfully log into your Telegram account. The details of the fraud process are as follows:

1. Get the phone number of your Telegram account.

If your Telegram account is set up to be visible to anyone, your phone number will be visible to anyone, including scammers, or they will first get your friend's account and then look for your phone number.

2. Spoof the login code.

Scammers always tell you there is something wrong with your account and trick you into taking screenshots. At the same time, they will try to log into your account by entering your phone number on the new device.

Take the following oral technique as an example:

(1) There are two identical contacts in the interface: When creating an encrypted chat for a contact, two identical contacts appear in the chat list. The encrypted chat communication shown below has a lock icon in front of the name.

(2) Friends are needed to help unlock: Scammers will say that their account has been officially restricted and they need friends to send verification codes to help unlock.

3. Log in to your account to continue the scam

When you accidentally send a screenshot with a login code to a scammer, the scammer can use the login code to log into your account if two-factor authentication is not turned on for your account. The scammer then deletes all devices, changes the password, and proceeds to trick other people in your contact list.

Scam messages sent by fake Telegram channels or text messages

Scammers will send you messages pretending to be the official TG account, claiming that your TG account will be restricted if it violates the usage rules. You need to visit the website they provide you. If you click on a phishing link, your account may be compromised.

Third-party applications with backdoors

Since there is no Chinese version installation package, users often use search engines to find the Chinese version. Therefore, scammers use SEO optimization to bootstrap their Telegram download sites and trick users into downloading their malicious apps.

When users download a TG with a backdoor, their chat history will be scanned. If there is any cryptocurrency wallet address in the chat history, the address will be replaced with the scammer's address and the user will be tricked into transferring funds to the scammer.

In this example, the user downloaded the Chinese version of telegram client from the http://www.telegram-china.org website (currently inaccessible) and sent a trx address:

The address at the time was TNpEa9PoqWsoPcTdTqUUdrYJbqhVLoSVFh. Then when the app is reopened it is replaced by another address.

Malicious Telegram Chinese language pack

The Telegram channel (https://t.me/zh_CN_Telegram_zh_CN_CN_zh_ch_zn) was reported as a fake channel. The official channel of the Chinese language pack is https://t.me/zh_CN. Updates have been stopped due to lack of developer support.

crypto scam

Scammers pretend to be crypto influencers on Telegram to promote promises of good returns on cryptocurrency investments. Scammers will post comments on Twitter or contact you directly on Telegram, claiming to offer you a high return on your investment.

If you believe it, the scammers will ask you to open an account on their dedicated cryptocurrency exchange. At that point, they will show you a chart that shows your investment is growing, but when you try to withdraw your money, it's bbq

Safety advice:

Turn on two-factor authentication

For account security, set a password for two-factor authentication. This password is only required when your account attempts to log into a new Telegram client.

Open Settings > Privacy & Security > 2-Step Verification and set a password. It's a good idea to also set up a recovery email in case you forget your password.

Use third-party clients with caution

Check how you downloaded the Telegram client. If you downloaded TG using the installation package found on some websites, please uninstall it and reinstall TG by downloading the installation package from the TG official website. Third-party clients may be able to take control of your account, read your entire chat history, and collect information about your device. Therefore, for safety reasons, please download TG from the official website.

Don't send your personal information to Telegram bots

Use Telegram bots with caution and do not reveal personal data, including name, username, phone number, email address, password, or any information that can be used to identify you.

Be careful when receiving private messages from strangers

Do not easily trust private messages from strangers to avoid financial losses or information leakage. If you are disturbed, you can choose to block them. When you receive unfamiliar files and links, do not click on them without further double-checking.

Check wallet address

If you want to send your wallet address to someone, check the address through multiple verifications. It is best to send a screenshot of the wallet QR code to others.

Regularly check the devices logged into Telegram

Regularly check the IP status of devices logged into Telegram, and force devices with abnormal IPs offline.

Don't share your phone number when adding contacts

There is only the concept of contacts, not friends on Telegram. When you add or delete certain contacts, your account will not be removed from his/her contact list. When adding a contact, you can uncheck the Share my phone number option that is selected by default.

Hide your phone number and add restrictions on joining groups

If you go to Settings > Privacy & Security, you can hide your phone number, status, profile, and forwarded messages. You can set that contacts who are not in your contact list cannot join the group to reduce the risk of being scammed. Also, don't use the "Add People Nearby" feature.

The above is all, welcome to forward, thank you.