Telegram has grown into one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the United States, with millions of users relying on it for private chats, large public channels, and community groups. Its open structure, simple and quick account creation, and broad use of bots also make it attractive to criminals.
Contents:
As a result, Telegram scams have become one of the most common forms of social engineering attacks on mobile users across the Telegram app. From fake crypto giveaways and other Telegram crypto scams to cloned profiles that impersonate friends, scammers use Telegram’s design to stay anonymous and pressure users into making costly mistakes. Let’s explore the most common Telegram scams, how they work, and how to lock down your Telegram account with practical security steps.
Top Telegram scams
Telegram scams tend to follow recognizable patterns. While the tactics vary, most attacks fall into a small number of repeatable models that scammers reuse across different channels, accounts, and campaigns. Learning these core scam types makes it much easier to spot suspicious activity early and avoid reacting emotionally to messages designed to create urgency, fear, or false opportunity.
Investment and cryptocurrency fraud
Investment and cryptocurrency fraud is the most financially damaging category of Telegram scams. These schemes usually appear as professional-looking channels — one of the most common formats used in Telegram messenger scams — that promote trading signals, token presales, or “private” investment groups. They rely on polished branding, daily market updates, and staged profit screenshots to create credibility.
These operations are typically run by Telegram scammers using coordinated channels, private groups, and automated Telegram bots. Victims are invited into private chats and pressured to act quickly to “secure a spot.” They are instructed to send funds to a wallet address or connect to a fake trading platform. Some operations use Telegram bots to display simulated balances and fabricated returns, reinforcing the illusion that money is growing.
Once a payment is made, withdrawals are blocked, access becomes restricted, and support accounts disappear. The entire structure is designed to trigger fear of missing out and push users into irreversible financial decisions before proper verification can happen.
Phishing and account takeover scams
Phishing and account takeover scams focus on stealing your Telegram login information so attackers can lock you out and use your account to target others. These attacks often begin with unsolicited messages claiming that your account has been reported, flagged for suspicious activity, or requires urgent verification inside the Telegram app.
These attacks almost always begin with unsolicited messages sent from compromised or fake Telegram accounts. Victims are then directed to click a link or provide a one-time login code sent by Telegram. Once that code is shared, scammers immediately gain control of the account, change recovery settings, and start sending scam messages to the victim’s contacts and groups. Once your Telegram account details have been changed, recovering access to your Telegram account becomes difficult and time-sensitive.
Because these scams use real Telegram security notifications and short response windows, they can feel legitimate. In reality, Telegram will never ask for your login code through direct messages, and any request for verification sent by a private user is a clear sign of fraud.
Impersonation scams
Impersonation scams exploit your trust. During an impersonation scam you typically receive a message that looks familiar: a coworker asking for help, a friend needing a quick favor, a manager requesting urgent payment. Even the profile photo, name, and the writing style feel right, so you don’t think twice, while in reality, you’re speaking to a cloned account created with publicly available profile details.
Scammers monitor group conversations, copy real users, and wait for moments when a financial request will seem natural. By the time doubt sets in, the transfer has already been made — and the real person has no idea their identity was just used to scam someone they know. This is one of the most common ways Telegram scammers exploit trust inside the Telegram app.
Fake giveaway and job scams
Fake giveaway and job scams — often reported as Telegram job scams — succeed because they reframe risk as “participation.” Instead of asking for money directly, they invite users to qualify, register, or unlock access. The language feels procedural, which makes each step seem harmless on its own.
These schemes often introduce friction on purpose. Small payments are labeled as verification fees, account activation charges, or wallet confirmations. Each completed step increases psychological commitment, making it harder to stop later — even when something feels off. Many of these funnels are fully automated using Telegram bots that simulate onboarding workflows inside the Telegram app.
What makes these scams especially persistent on Telegram is how easily the process can be automated. Telegram bots deliver instructions, confirmations, and countdowns, turning fraud into a self-running workflow that looks like onboarding instead of exploitation.
Malware and fake apps
Malware scams on Telegram are dangerous because the action required to trigger them is trivial — and the consequences are not. A single tap on a file can quietly convert a personal device into a long-term surveillance tool. These Telegram scams often spread through public channels and direct unsolicited messages.
Unlike financial scams, these attacks don’t need your cooperation, trust, or belief. They don’t persuade you to send money or share codes. All they require is installation. Once active, malicious apps can intercept authentication messages, copy stored credentials, and monitor activity without showing obvious signs of compromise. This makes malware-based Telegram scams especially hard to detect.
Subscription and membership traps
Subscription and membership traps are designed to turn one-time interest into ongoing financial loss. Instead of stealing money all at once, these scams aim to place users into recurring payment loops that quietly drain accounts over time.
The offers are usually framed as “VIP access,” premium trading rooms, exclusive communities, or early-access programs. What looks like a single membership fee is actually the entry point into automatic renewals, layered service charges, or bundled subscriptions that are difficult to cancel or trace. These scams are widely distributed by Telegram scammers operating multiple cloned channels across the Telegram app.
Because the charges are smaller and spread over time, they often go unnoticed until weeks or months later — when victims discover repeated deductions from their cards or wallets tied to services that never delivered what was promised.
The 3-step protection plan: How to stay safe on Telegram
Knowing how Telegram scams work is only half the defense. Telegram gives users quite a lot of control over their security, but many of its most important protections are turned off by default or buried inside privacy menus. The steps below focus on the specific settings that can help reduce your exposure to the most common Telegram-based threats — and make your account far harder to abuse or impersonate.
Step 1: Lock down your login
Enable two-step verification (2FA).
Open “settings.”
Tap “privacy and security.”
Tap “two-step verification.”
Tap “set additional password.”
Create a password.
Add a recovery email.
This protects your Telegram account from common Telegram scams even if your login code is exposed.
Check active sessions.
Open “settings.”
Tap “devices.”
Review the list of active sessions.
Tap “terminate session” on any device you do not recognize
Active session reviews prevent silent access to your Telegram account by Telegram scammers using unauthorized devices.
Step 2: Reduce who can reach you
Hide your phone number.
Open “settings.”
Tap “privacy and security.”
Tap “phone number.”
Set “who can see my phone number” to “nobody” or “my contacts.”
Set “who can find me by my number” to “my contacts.”
Limiting visibility reduces how easily your Telegram account can be targeted by strangers.
Restrict group invites.
Open “settings.”
Tap “privacy and security.”
Tap “groups & channels.”
Set “who can add me to groups” to “my contacts.”
Step 3: Verify before you act
Confirm money requests.
If you receive a request for money or gift cards, verify the sender by phone or another messaging app before responding.
Never share login information.
Never share your Telegram login code in response to unsolicited messages.
Never share your two-step verification password.
Do not open unsolicited links or files.
Block and report scams.
Open the suspicious chat.
Tap the profile name.
Tap “report.”
Select “scam and block the account.”
Is Telegram safe?
Telegram includes built-in privacy and security features designed to protect user communications. At the same time, its default configuration and open communication model differ from many other messaging apps, which affects how exposure to Telegram scams and account abuse can occur.
Standard Telegram chats are stored on Telegram’s cloud servers so they can sync across devices, while secret chats remain device-bound. End-to-end encryption is available through secret chats, which must be manually enabled and operate on a single device. This structure supports flexibility and speed but places more emphasis on account-level protection. Many high-volume Telegram app scams rely on compromised Telegram account access rather than technical exploits used by Telegram scammers.
Telegram also supports large public channels, automated bots, and direct messages from unknown users. These features are widely used for legitimate communities, but they also increase exposure to social engineering and impersonation attempts. This open design is one of the reasons Telegram scams have gained a reputation for spreading quickly.
Telegram provides tools that allow users to manage privacy, restrict visibility, and protect account access. How these tools are configured plays a major role in reducing risk from Telegram app scams.
Bottom line
Telegram scams continue to evolve, but the mechanics behind them remain consistent. Most successful attacks rely on account access, reused credentials, and quick reactions that bypass verification. Locking down your Telegram account settings removes many of the most common Telegram scams entry points — but it does not address the broader problem of exposed or reused passwords across email, cloud storage, and financial accounts.
This is where NordPass adds an important layer of protection. By generating and storing strong, unique passwords for every service you use, NordPass helps prevent a single leaked login from turning into a chain of account takeovers — including the email and cloud accounts that scammers often target first.
Combined with built-in security tools inside the Telegram app, a password manager creates a much stronger defense against modern-day Telegram scams.