Criminals have started sending dangerous messages to Telegram users in Russia. The Ministry of Internal Affairs presented details about the new method of deception, reports Gazeta.ru.

The department released a screenshot of a correspondence with an unidentified person who sent the user an "apk" file and the message "Hi, are you taking pictures?"

"A photo cannot have an apk extension, unlike malware. If you receive such a message, do not download the files under any circumstances," warned the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On October 16, State Duma deputy Anton Nemkin warned about another fraud scheme, which refers to deleting the victim's Telegram channel. The scheme works as follows. the user supposedly receives a message from Telegram technical support that his account should be deleted and to cancel it, he needs to provide the SMS code sent to the service.

The attackers then send a link to a fake Telegram, State Services (Госуслуи) or other service website, where the victim is asked to enter a phone number and undergo authentication, then take the provided data, delete the correspondence and block the victim. And the obtained data is used to access the victim's personal bank accounts and withdraw money from the accounts or obtain loans.