Scammers have started using Telegram bots to blackmail users

Malicious actors have begun using users’ personal data collected by Telegram bots for blackmail and extortion.

As reported by «Ъ» cybersecurity experts, criminals extort money by threatening to publicly disclose personal data, as well as the victim’s online actions to their close ones.

As an example of information sources for scammers, experts cite MailSearchBot from the company LeakCheck. It was originally created to check for password leaks. The attackers use data from the service to blackmail users by email, experts say.

LeakCheck is aware of such cases:

“Most often, scammers write to victims that a virus has infected their computer and that all online actions are recorded, and to confirm this they attach the last password used,” the company said.

MailSearchBot does not store query history, so LeakCheck cannot establish a link between the bot and the scammers.

Attackers can also impersonate the service’s security department — they offer to change the compromised password, thereby gaining full access to the victims’ accounts, experts explain.

“People usually worry about the safety of their photos and messages, so they open such fraudulent emails and believe them,” said Igor Bederov, founder of Internet Rozysk.

Experts believe that in 2021 criminals may intensify activity in connection with the bill regulating publicly available personal data. It prohibits businesses from collecting data of social network users without their explicit consent.

Bederov believes this could lead to extortion messages addressed to companies allegedly from the data subject. The expert predicts that criminals may start sending fake letters with fines for violating the new law.

Earlier, it was reported that owners of Telegram channels were increasingly receiving messages from attackers with a virus that allows hijacking their accounts.

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