Recently, a report from the United Nations shocked the world: Telegram, a communication application that sells end-to-end encryption, has become a safe haven for Southeast Asian criminal networks. From laundering stolen funds to trading data obtained from hacker attacks to obtaining fraud tools, it has become a "one-stop" platform for criminal activities.
According to Reuters, the United Nations pointed out that Southeast Asian criminal enterprises, including Chinese criminal groups, are using encrypted applications such as Telegram to change the operating mode of organized crime in an unprecedented way. These criminal groups have an annual income of billions of dollars, which is staggering.
What is even more shocking is that not only are there a large number of unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges on Telegram that openly advertise money laundering services, but there are also advertisements claiming to be able to "transfer $3 million from overseas every day." Such blatant criminal behavior is rampant under the encryption protection of Telegram.
In addition, criminal networks also use Telegram to trade all kinds of stolen sensitive information, from credit information to passwords. They can even easily buy malware designed to steal funds here. Even more disturbing is that at least 10 deepfake software providers have been found to provide publicity services to criminals, which means that criminals may use these technologies to create fake videos for fraudulent activities.
Telegram's security issues have already attracted global attention. Previously, the United Nations pointed out that tether (USDT) is the preferred stablecoin for Asian criminal networks. An indictment earlier this year detailed how about $35.4 million was stolen from victims of a pig slaughter scam and quickly converted into US dollars. This undoubtedly provides another strong evidence of Telegram's criminal activities.
Faced with this grim situation, governments around the world have begun to take action. China has successfully dismantled an underground banking group that was accused of facilitating illegal transactions worth nearly $2 billion using USDT. This action undoubtedly sends a clear signal to the world: governments will not tolerate the use of crypto applications for criminal activities.
