Kaspersky Lab has discovered a new scheme that is used in Telegram messenger to steal money, personal and financial data. In addition, fraudsters are hiding under the online currency exchange service, РИА Новости reports.

The company's experts said that the criminals extort money from citizens and at the same time get the personal and financial information they need about them, posing as an online currency exchange service.

Fraudsters create websites that purport to be for exchanging currency and cryptocurrencies. When the user decides to exchange the currency, they are asked to go to the Telegram bot. There, the citizen is offered to fill out an application. The operator determines which point of receipt of cash is convenient for the client, when and with which banknotes, as well as his personal data: phone number, bank. The citizen is assured that he will receive the funds within 40-60 minutes after transferring the money. However, in reality, the user simply loses his funds and also puts his personal data at risk.

Olga Svistunova, a senior content analyst at Kaspersky Lab, said that in recent years, criminals have started using Telegram bots more often to carry out fraudulent schemes. According to her, this is probably because not everyone understands how such services work, and that anyone can create such a bot for their own purposes.

She called on the citizens to follow the basic rules of digital security. For example, be careful if the payment information indicates that the money is to be transferred to an individual rather than a legal entity. She recommends using only official, reliable services for financial transactions.

Earlier, NEWS.am Tech reported that fraudsters in Russia have developed a new scheme to deceive bank clients, which they are implementing under the pretext of replacing social cards.

Criminals call citizens and pose as social service workers, after which they convince bank customers that they need to renew their social cards. If the customer swallows the bait and agrees, he is asked to give his mobile phone number, explaining that it is necessary so that an SMS code is sent to the phone that the new card is ready. However, that code is actually for accessing the customer's online banking account.