Tambaram police warn smartphone users to prevent falling victim to a Telegram fraud.

Post Views: 802

An individual who fell victim to the Telegram part-job offer fraud lost ₹35 lakhs. Individuals are initially offered links over the Telegram channel, and they are then required to make payments for their tasks.

More than 10 young people suffered financial losses after becoming victims of online scammers who enticed them through the Telegram chat app by promising part-time jobs and large sums of income.

An experienced police officer from Tambaram’s Central Crime Branch explained how cybercriminals recruit young people for part-time work by sending them URLs in messages on Telegram that promise them sure-shot income for viewing YouTube videos, submitting movie reviews, or providing hotel ratings.

The scammers guarantee payments of ₹50 to ₹100. The individual is thereafter added to Telegram groups in which they post links and guidelines for the assigned duties. According to the police officer, they send tiny transactions of cash into the individuals’ bank accounts in an effort to gain their confidence. The individuals would then be added by the scammers to the Telegram group “prepaid task.” Twenty assignments are given to the candidates. After the candidates begin the activities, they are instructed to make a deposit of money in order to keep going with the assignments with the assurance of significant rewards upon task completion. The policeman said that the candidate won’t be allowed to withdraw the money.

“The fraudsters rob the individuals of ₹1,000 on their initial assignment and ₹1 crore on their 10th assignment. Afterward, the concerning Telegram group admin bans the looted individuals from communicating with the group and excludes them from it. Throughout the scam, one of the contestants lost 35 lakh rupees. We are looking into more than 10 complaints in our area of authority,” he said.

Police in Tambaram advised citizens to exercise caution. They warn users to exercise care if they encounter any unwanted communications in WhatsApp or Telegram groups. In such cases, people should not entertain such communications and block these chats immediately, along with reporting them to the nearest police station.

About The Author:

Yogesh Naager is a content marketer that specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blog, he’s also written for brands including CollegeDunia, Utsav Fashion, and NASSCOM. Naager entered the field of content in an unusual way. He began his career as an insurance sales executive, where he developed an interest in simplifying difficult concepts. He also combines this interest with a love of narrative, which makes him a good writer in the cybersecurity field. In the bottom line, he frequently writes for Craw Security.