Financial trap: Russians are being robbed through Telegram bots for investments
The attackers began using Telegram bots in their deceptive schemes, which create the appearance of participating in profitable transactions and thus force citizens to transfer significant amounts of money to them, the press center of the Russian Interior Ministry reported. Izvestia investigated what steps should be taken if the money has already been transferred to fraudsters, as well as how to increase the level of digital literacy of the population in order to reduce the number of victims of such schemes.
Signs of fraud
The user should be alert at the slightest suspicion of fraud, Peter Shcherbachenko, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. The main "red flag" is the lack of official information: a legitimate bank or broker always has a website, registration in the registers of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and easily verifiable contacts, whereas a fake bot most often exists only inside Telegram.
Also, according to him, attention should be paid to aggressive advertising and dubious channels that promise "guaranteed income," "secret strategies," or "insider information." Real financial companies don't promote their services that way. Another clear signal is the unrealistically high profitability: offers of 2-5% per day or more than 50% per month with "minimal risks" are always fraudulent.
In addition, the attackers create pressure and artificial excitement: phrases like "action only today" or "last chance to enter" are designed for hasty decisions so that the victim does not have time to check the information and think about his actions, the expert noted.
— Before investing money, find the company's website, check its presence in the registry on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and call the official phone number from its website to clarify whether they really work through this bot, — advised Peter Shcherbachenko.
The main way to distinguish a fake bot from a real financial service is to use only official applications or offices of organizations, since conducting financial transactions through a messenger has become illegal, Alexandra Pozharskaya, an expert at the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights project and the Moshelovka platform, confirmed in an interview with Izvestia. If the money has already been transferred to the attackers, you should immediately contact the police and write a statement to fix the compromise of personal and bank data, even if it is unlikely that you will be able to return the funds, this will protect you from the reuse of information and have proof for law enforcement agencies.
The main advice remains unchanged: never install or run bots and applications released by unknown organizations or companies without a license, Alexey Voylukov, MBA professor of business practice in digital finance at RANEPA, told Izvestia.
— Even if the bot "appears" to be a product of a well-known brand or a large IT company, it should be downloaded only from the official website of this organization, and not through intermediaries. Otherwise, there is a high risk of getting on a fake application that only disguises itself as a real one," the expert believes.
Different tricks
During this year, several fraud schemes related to the use of Telegram bots were recorded, F6 told Izvestia. Among them are offers to participate in the non—existent Digital Ruble program of the Bank of Russia with the promise of easy earnings on investments.
Potential victims are shown a website designed as an official resource, where the emblems and attributes of the digital ruble are posted, and they are also invited to communicate with the "manager" via a chatbot. From the very first messages, a person is taught that it is possible to make a profit from 100 thousand rubles literally from the very first days. To participate, you must deposit at least 10 thousand rubles.
Under the guise of clarifying the profitability parameters and selecting the "optimal contribution", the user goes through a short questionnaire. After that, a notification appears that specialists will contact you to clarify the details. This is followed by a call from the so-called personal consultant, who insistently urges you to replenish the "deposit". As a result, lost funds and disappointment instead of the promised profits.
"In general, the Telegram ecosystem has been actively used by Internet scammers since 2019-2020 — first in the Mammoth scheme with fake delivery of goods, and later in schemes with fake dates, investments or types of fraud on behalf of the head," the company noted.
The advice in this situation is very clear, according to F6. First of all, it is worth remembering that any offers related to investments in cryptocurrencies or securities often become a tool of fraudsters. When they promise huge interest rates, bonuses, or "instant enrichment," it should immediately alert you — such promises are a clear danger signal for an inexperienced investor.
Experts also recommend limiting the ability to add your account to Telegram group chats and avoiding interaction with random bots. You should not even trust resources that look like the websites of well—known financial companies - they often turn out to be phishing sites created solely to lure money.
There are also some useful recommendations that will help make your Telegram account less visible to intruders. First of all, you should limit the possibility of calls and messages from users you don't know. This will help you avoid unwanted contacts and suspicious offers. It is also important to disable the phone number search function, as your profile will not be easily found through the contact database.
In addition, it is useful to set a ban on adding unknown people to group chats. Another step towards security is to change or delete your username if there is a possibility that it may be associated with personal information, such as your last name or place of work. This approach will make it much more difficult for scammers to identify and contact you.
Spreading knowledge
The fight against financial fraud requires joint efforts by the state, NGOs, financial institutions, the media and the citizens themselves, believes Petr Shcherbachenko. One of the priorities is education through the media and official sources: regular publications analyzing specific schemes help to warn people, and the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Roskomnadzor in this area should be actively supported by the media.
"It is equally important to improve the system of financial and digital literacy in schools and universities, as well as to conduct special programs for pensioners in order to form a stable "immunity" to fraudulent schemes," he said. — Supporting educational initiatives of citizens and NGOs through grants also helps to expand the reach of educational programs.
Finally, according to him, it is necessary to popularize simple safety rules: do not believe the promises of a superhighway, check the licenses of organizations and do not transfer money to strangers. These basic principles should become clear and meaningful to all users of financial services on the Internet.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, but no responses had been received at the time of publication.
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