FROM diet tips to travel and books to sports, there is no shortage of channels available for Malaysians to join on Telegram, which is one of the most popular messaging apps in the country.
However, it was claimed online recently that scammers have been inviting users to join Telegram channels that would supposedly provide them with more information about government assistance.
It is claimed that the scammers would send the victims a link to a website masquerading as the Telegram web app where users would have to enter their personal details. This would then enable the scammers to take over the victims’ Telegram accounts. Are scammers using such a tactic?
Verdict:
True
According to the sebenarnya.my portal, which is a portal for the public to check on the authenticity of news spread through social websites, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) advised the public to be wary of such attempts by scammers.
It also said MCMC was aware of scammers attempting to take over Telegram users’ accounts by inviting them to join nonexistent Telegram channels.
Some examples of the channel names used are:
- Government assistance
- Malaysian Government Assistance
- Financial Assistance Malaysia
- List of Government Assistance 2023
- 2023 Financial Aid List
- Malaysian Government Assistance Info
“Users interested in learning more about the aid offered will be asked to click on a link that leads to a fake website that resembles the Telegram site; where the user then has to enter their mobile number, and then fill in the Verification Code received from Telegram.
“After filling in the information, the user's Telegram account can be taken over by the scammer for the purpose of disguising the identity, including to deceive family members, friends, and other people known on Telegram.
“Accordingly, users are reminded to be wary of any suspicious invitations or offers received, and not to browse the links provided,” said the MCMC.
Users are also reminded not to hand over the Verification Code received from Telegram to any party and they are advised not to fill in the code on fake sites masquerading as a Telegram site.
For information, the real Telegram site link is at https://telegram.org
Users are also advised to protect their Telegram accounts by activating two-step verification.
This can be done by going to Telegram Settings > Privacy and Security > 2-Step Verification > Enable and following the instructions provided.
Users who are victims of Telegram account takeover can contact the Telegram help channel at https://telegram.org/support for help and guidance on regaining access to the account by going through several verification steps.
