The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has…
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has registered more than 24,000 cases of fraudsters using the Telegram messenger to commit remote thefts, according to the Department for Organizing the Fight Against Illegal Use of Information and Communication Technologies (UBK) of the ministry.
Consensus
- Since the beginning of 2026, more than 24,000 incidents of fraud using Telegram have been registered by Russian internal affairs authorities.
- Telegram is used for remote thefts, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, sale of counterfeit documents, cyberattacks, unauthorized collection and dissemination of personal data, and anonymous distribution of false messages about planned terrorist attacks.
- The administration of Telegram has not removed channels, chats, and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence services for organizing sabotage and terrorism in Russia.
- Pavel Durov has been charged with aiding terrorist activities under Article 205.1, Part 1.1 of the Russian Criminal Code.
- Durov is wanted internationally and may be arrested in absentia.
Points of divergence
- Telegram is considered necessary by Ukrainian special services for recruiting Russians to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts. — kommersant
- The FSB identified a specific scheme involving the Telegram bot 'Daiwinchik/Leo' used to lure Russian teenagers into criminal activities through fake female personas, followed by coercion under threat of prosecution. — vedomosti
- A malicious program named 'Windows Telemetry Update' steals Telegram session data after execution, allowing hackers access without password or SMS verification. This exploit occurs when software is downloaded from unverified sources. — vm
- Scammers have started targeting pensioners by impersonating Pension Fund officials and threatening reduced pensions due to alleged document errors to extract codes for account takeover. — m24
Coverage (10 sources)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs claims over 20,000 cases of Telegram use for theft — Коммерсантъ
- Police report 24,000 fraud cases using Telegram in 2026 — Ведомости
- Ministry of Internal Affairs reports 24,000 cases of remote thefts via Telegram — Вести
- МВД выявило 24 тыс. фактов использования Telegram для дистанционных хищений — Интерфакс
- Ministry of Internal Affairs reported on 24 thousand cases of fraud using Telegram — Москва 24
- Ministry of Internal Affairs Warns About Telegram Bot with 'Threat Protection' Used by Fraudsters — Ведомости
- Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Warns About New Method for Stealing Telegram Accounts Without Password or SMS — Вечерняя Москва
- Scammers Learned to Steal Telegram Accounts Without Passwords and SMS — Вести
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed a scammers' program for stealing Telegram accounts without passwords — Ведомости
- Russians warned of new method for stealing Telegram accounts — Москва 24
Key entities
- Telegram
- MVD
- Russia
- Moscow
- UBK
- INTERFAX.RU
- FSB
- Telegram channel
- TASS
- Maxim Denison
- Alexander Avilov
- Kaspersky Laboratories
- Bulletin of the Russian Cyberpolice
- Telegram bot
More on Maxim Denison
- Two Injured in Bashkortostan Drone Attack
- 12 Injured in Novorossiysk Drone Attack
- Moscow Zoo Sends 500+ Animals to 35 Regions