Stay Safe: How to Spot and Avoid Telegram Scams
Main Takeaways
With a reputation of having robust privacy features, the messaging app Telegram (TG) is very popular in the cryptocurrency community. However, some of the app’s features also provide opportunities for scammers, meaning that users should stay vigilant when using Telegram.
Recently, there has been an increase in Telegram-related fraudulent activity, particularly cases where cybercriminals impersonate Binance employees to commit fraud, deploy phishing or investment scam. Please note if a Telegram user has their account information written in the bio section, there is an extremely high probability that the user is a scammer.
In this article, we will introduce common Telegram scams and share tips on how to avoid falling victim to them.
Account Impersonation Scams on Telegram
Impersonating Binance Employees
Note that criminals will often impersonate Binance employees.
For the first case, our Binance user met a so-called “financial advisor” on Telegram who offered to help him earn money by participating in a scam airdrop from a fake Binance organizer. The scammers impersonating Binance then told the user that he needed to pay a tax fee and provided a phishing link for the user to pay.
Note: Scammers impersonating Binance personnel will often use the official Binance logo and names. The real purpose of their action is to trick users into trusting them and giving away their assets.
Impersonating Binance Bot
Note that criminals will also often impersonate Binance support bot.
Note: The bot username appears to be Binance Support, however, this account is not an official channel from Binance.
Impersonating Binance Group
Here is a fake telegram group example. Users were spammed and added to a telegram Binance group that used a Binance logo and had a chat channel for a fake Binance customer support representative.
Note: In the chat of this group, the scammer introduced fake mining, asked users to pay ETH and claim fake BNB.
Security Tips for Account Impersonation Scams on Telegram
Always carefully verify the information of your Telegram contacts. You can find relevant account details on their profile page. Pay particular attention to the username field and do not rely on information presented in the Bio section. The Bio field can be easily manipulated, allowing anyone to falsely claim association with official Binance channels. Below is a screenshot of a typical user profile page. Notice that scammers often obscure the username while displaying official-sounding information in the Bio field to deceive users.
Important Note: If a Telegram user has their account information written in the bio section, there is an extremely high probability that this user is fraudulent.
When checking account information, pay attention to each letter in the username, check uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as special characters. Some scammers use special character substitutions or alter the case of letters to make their accounts look very similar to official ones. If you do not examine it very closely, you might not notice the difference between them. For example: A scam account that uses the letter L to write BlNANCE, instead of using I as per the correct BINANCE spelling. These two symbols appear similar at first glance without careful examination!
We also offer a verification channel named Binance Verify, which is useful for verifying social media accounts. Input the username in the search bar to see the verification result. The image below displays what should appear if the account has a genuine Binance username. If the TG contact provides you with a verified screenshot to gain your trust, always make sure to crosscheck the source being verified to the TG account’s username to make sure they are indeed the same.
Telegram Phishing Scams
Malware
A person searching for “download TG” in a search engine may very well come across malicious unofficial TG software. Such malware could be repackaged to contain malicious features.
Note: there is no official Chinese (CN) version of Telegram, do not download or you may fall for the malware scam.
Crypto Giveaway Scam
It is common for a user to receive an invitation message in Telegram to participate in a crypto giveaway in exchange for a small payment. Most of the time, these giveaways are presented as deals that are too good to be true.
Below are real-life examples of such a scam.
Note: The screenshots show a giveaway scam whereby a user was asked to pay a little money first, in order to get rewards later. Once the user made the transaction, he or she most likely ended up losing precious assets.
Security Tips for Telegram Phishing Scams
Download Telegram software only from the official channel. Always check the source of your software download and avoid installation packages from third-party websites. Unofficial clients may be maliciously altered to gain control of your account, read all your chat logs, and collect your device information, which poses a significant risk to your account security. If you are using a Telegram software downloaded from unofficial channels, delete it immediately and reinstall from the official source.
Enable 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) to add an extra layer of security to your TG account. This makes it harder for hackers to break into and take control of your account. Here are the steps to enable 2FA on Telegram : (TG Profile → Privacy and Security → Two-Step Verification).
When using Telegram, it is crucial to avoid sharing any personal or sensitive information. This includes your full name, username, phone number, email address, passwords, seed phrases, bank account details, etc.
Do not click on links shared from untrustworthy sources. Clicking the link or sharing sensitive information may lead to the loss of personal information and personal property.
Telegram Investment Scams
Fake Airdrop
Airdrop scams are phishing attacks to trick users into claiming a fake airdrop. This usually entails convincing users to make payment, connecting their wallets to malicious smart contracts, or sharing their private keys in order to claim the fake 'airdrop'. In all instances, the airdrop being promised never materialized, and users ended up losing personal information and/or personal assets.
Note: this is a fake IO.NET(IO) airdrop scam, where scammers lead users to believe that they can receive tokens that have not been listed yet, through a “purchase presale”. However, even if the user receives the IO token, it’s most likely a fake token.
Fake Token
Below are fake token-related scams. Scammers create temporary Telegram accounts/groups/websites as their channel to prompt fake tokens, and deceive people with the promise of unusually high returns that often come in the form of fake tokens. Such tokens have no real value and no liquidity.
Note: During launchpool time, fake token scams proliferate. If a program advertises itself as part of Binance Launchpool but it is found outside our platform, it is most likely fake. To stay up-to-date with the latest Binance Launchpool initiatives, we urge you to regularly check our website’s official page where we offer the most accurate, real-time information regarding our Launchpool programs.
Security Tips for Telegram Investment Scams
Do not trust investment promotions promising extremely high returns. If an investment sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.
Check official events on the Binance official website and only participate in Binance official activities. Be cautious of false promotions.
Always do research to verify a project before making any investment decision.
Pay close attention to the details, scrutinize the source, and ensure project authenticity before making a decision.