Inside the Crypto‑Fueled Fake Review Economy |
Inside the Crypto‑Fueled Fake Review Economy
Telegram scammers are buying reviews with crypto and trapping workers in a deeper con.
BY MOSES JEANFRANCOIS, NEWS WRITER @MOSESJEANS
Scammers on Telegram, an end-to-end encryption messaging app, are targeting users and gaining a hefty profit . Using names like “Sharon Roberts” and “Victoria Castillo,” the real people behind the screen are messaging numbers on a list and pushing them towards a quick job for quick cash.
The scammers are pretending to be affiliated with major hotel brands like DoubleTree by Hilton, Ibis Budget, and Travelodge, and then instructing victims on how to set up a crypto wallet in order to be paid out. All of the hotel brands the scammers were guising under had no affiliation with the scammers, according to a report by The Guardian.
On Telegram, scammers contact targets with offers of easy online work, like writing hotel reviews, in exchange for small payments in cryptocurrency. After a few successful payouts, the “bosses” introduce higher paying “business tasks” that require workers to send their own money with a promise of a quick return.
Once funds are transferred, new demands follow for some, and for many, the promised returns never arrive. Signs point to the fake-review job being part of a broader money laundering and fraud scheme with scammers using tiny crypto payments to mask funds. Blending fake gig work, fraud and money laundering into a streamlined scheme on the messaging platform.
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This is just a new addition to the many scams and bot systems already circulating on Telegram. A spokesperson for Telegram told The Guardian that it has a “robust anti-spam system” that prevents many scams before they can start.
“While scams are unfortunately present on every social network, Telegram routinely removes such scams from its platform as part of its normal moderation processes.”
The messaging platform founded by two Russian brothers has been banned by over 30 countries across the world, with many citing a promotion of terrorism and illegal actions, according to Euronews.