Bank VTB warned about the growing popularity of a new fraud scheme using the messenger Telegram. It is implemented in two stages.

The first stage: hacking an account in Telegram. The user receives a message from a friend/relative, where they are asked to participate in a vote or, for example, to buy a product at a discount. When a person clicks on the link, they are redirected to a phishing resource where they are asked to enter their phone number and SMS-codes (this code allegedly certifies participation in the vote). That's it - the account is hacked.

The second stage: from the hacked account, fraudsters send messages with a story about a happened force majeure and a request to transfer money to the number of their card. At the same time, the card picture is faked using a Telegram bot: the card number on it is real, but the account is in another bank, not the largest and noticeable. Accordingly, all transfers are made to the fraudsters' account.

The peculiarity of the new scheme? The fact that it allows fraudsters to win time. Thus, the client who lost the money first contacts the bank, the design of which the fraudsters used, and then realizes that he was actually sending money to another organization. During this time, the scammers have time to cash the received funds.

VTB reminds that to protect your account in Telegram you need to set up two-step authentication and a cloud password that will be requested when logging in from a new device in addition to the SMS-code.