Alla Khrapunova, curator of the Moshelovka platform, said that the activity of scammers – “beggars” in WhatsApp and Telegram messengers has increased several times over the past six months.
The expert explained that begging is common not only in crowded places, but also on the internet. Calls for financial assistance to the “needy” were mainly distributed in social networking groups and forums that brought together people ready to help those in need – mothers, volunteers, animal lovers.
With the advent of the group chat option in messengers, scammers moved there. Khrapunova notes that at first “beggars” concentrated on the more popular and widespread WhatsApp – conversations of mothers, parents, animal rights activists, cakes and neighborhoods.
But with the advent of the ability to create bots in Telegram, attackers began to actively use it. Bots find conversations combined with “necessary” idea and simultaneously issue requests for help for everyone, imitating the behavior of a living person in need of financial support, for example, for a sick child.
The expert also states that the number of “beggars” on WhatsApp has not decreased. He states that in the first half of 2023, the platform received three times more signals about fraudulent charges and requests for help than in the entirety of 2021 and 2022.
Source: Ferra
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