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Telegram (TG) has a reputation for being a reliable privacy app and is very popular in the crypto community. However, some of the app’s features also open the door to scammers. This means users should be vigilant when using Telegram.
Recently, there has been an increase in fraud related to Telegram, especially cases where cybercriminals impersonate Binance employees to scam, phish, or promote fake investments. Be aware that if a Telegram user has account information in their profile description, there is an extremely high likelihood that they are a scammer.
In this article, we will discuss common Telegram scams and share tips on how to avoid becoming their victim.
Account Impersonation Fraud on Telegram
Criminals impersonate Binance employees
Scammers often pose as Binance employees.
In the first case, a Binance user encountered a so-called financial consultant on Telegram, who offered to help him make money by participating in a fraudulent airdrop from a fake Binance organizer. Then the scammers, pretending to be Binance, told the user that he had to pay a tax fee and provided a phishing link for payment.
Note: Scammers impersonating Binance employees often use the official logo and names of employees. Their goal is to make users trust them and hand over assets.
Binance Identity Theft Bot
Criminals also often impersonate the Binance support bot.
Note: The bot's username is Binance Support, but this account is not an official Binance channel.
Binance Group Impersonation
Here is an example of a fake group on Telegram. Users received spam and were added to a Binance group in Telegram with the exchange's logo and a chat with a fake Binance support representative.
Note: In the chat of this group, the scammer was involved in fake mining and asked users to send ETH to receive fake BNB.
Safety Tips for Account Impersonation Fraud on Telegram
Always carefully verify contact information in Telegram. Account information can be found on the profile page. Pay special attention to the username field and do not rely on the information provided in the 'About' section. This section can be easily manipulated, as anyone can claim to be affiliated with official Binance channels. Below is a screenshot of a typical user profile page. Note that scammers often hide their username by adding supposedly official information in the 'About' section to deceive users.
Important Note: If a Telegram user has information about an account in the 'About' section, it is highly likely that they are a scammer.
When checking account details, pay attention to every letter in the username, check for uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as special characters. Some scammers replace letters with special characters or change the case of letters to make their accounts look very similar to official ones. If you do not examine the name closely, you may not notice the difference. Example: a scammer uses the letter L in the name BlNANCE, when the correct spelling is BINANCE. At first glance, these two characters seem identical!
Use the channel Binance Verify. You can verify social media accounts there. Enter the username in the search bar to find the verification result. The image below shows what you should see if the account is associated with a real Binance employee. If a contact in TG provides you with a verified screenshot to gain your trust, always check the source and the account in TG to ensure they truly match.
Phishing on Telegram
Malware
If you search for 'download TG', you may encounter malicious unofficial TG software. Such programs may have malicious features added.
Note: There is no official Chinese (CN) version of Telegram. Do not download it, or you may fall into the hands of scammers.
Cryptocurrency Giveaway Fraud
Scammers send invitations in Telegram to participate in cryptocurrency giveaways for a small fee. In most cases, these giveaways seem too good to be true.
Below are real examples of such fraud.
Note: The screenshots show giveaway fraud, where the user was asked to pay a small amount of money upfront to later receive a reward. Once the user made the transaction, they likely lost valuable assets.
Tips for Protecting Against Phishing Fraud in Telegram
Download Telegram software only from the official channel. Always check the source of the software download and do not use installation packages from third-party sites. Unofficial clients may be modified to gain control over your account, read your entire chat history, and collect information about your device, which poses a significant security risk to your account. If you are using Telegram software downloaded from unofficial channels, immediately uninstall it and reinstall it from the official source.
Activate 2FA (two-factor authentication) to add an extra layer of security to your TG account. This will reduce the likelihood of your account being hacked. Below are instructions on how to enable 2FA in Telegram (Profile → Privacy and Security → Two-Factor Authentication).
When using Telegram, it is important not to share personal and confidential information. This includes your full name, username, phone number, email address, passwords, seed phrases, banking details, etc.
Do not click on links from untrusted sources. Clicking on a link or sharing confidential information may lead to the loss of personal data and assets.
Investment Fraud on Telegram
Fake Airdrops
Airdrop fraud involves phishing attacks where users participate in fake airdrops. Victims are usually convinced to make a payment, connect wallets to malicious smart contracts, or share private keys to participate in a fake airdrop. In all cases, the promised airdrop does not occur, and users simply lose personal information and/or assets.
Note: This is a fake airdrop for IO.NET (IO), where users were convinced that they could receive tokens during a presale that had not yet been listed. However, even if a user receives IO tokens, they are likely not real.
Fake Tokens
Below are examples of fake token fraud. Criminals create temporary accounts/groups/websites in Telegram to offer fake tokens and scam people. Victims are promised unusually high profits, which are often paid out in non-existent assets. Such tokens have no real value or liquidity.
Note: During token launches, cases of fraud increase. If a team claims to participate in Binance Launchpool but is conducted outside our platform, it is likely a scam. To stay updated on the latest projects on Binance Launchpool, we strongly recommend regularly checking the official page of our website. There, we publish the most accurate real-time information about our Launchpool programs.
Safety Tips for Investment Fraud on Telegram
Do not trust investment offers with exceptionally high returns. If an investment seems too good to be true, it is likely a scam.
Check the official promotions on the official Binance website and participate only in them. Be cautious of fake promotions.
Always research a project before deciding to invest in it.
Pay special attention to details, carefully analyze the source, and verify the authenticity of projects before making a decision.