Telegram users have encountered a new type of fraud, RBC has found out.
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:55 am
Fraudsters use AI to generate voice messages based on audio messages from account owners — this allows them to more convincingly ask for money from their acquaintances. Experts call this scheme new to Russia, but difficult to implement
First, criminals gain access to an account, then start writing to potential victims from the owner's contact list asking them to transfer money. The criminals back up the story about the need for help with a voice message allegedly from the account owner. The audio message uses clips from his real old voice messages.
The audio message is germany whatsapp number database duplicated in personal correspondence and in all chats where the owner of the stolen account is a member. Then a photo of a bank card with the first and last name is sent. Moreover, the victim's interlocutor RBC's first and last name in social networks differed from the information in the passport, and the fraudsters used the passport data. The amount that the criminals wanted to get was 200 thousand rubles.
One of the VKontakte users faced a similar situation. In this case, the loss was 3 thousand rubles.
A VKontakte representative assured that there are no mass fraudulent actions with such mechanics on their platform. "The social network's security systems successfully counteract such actions. To combat fraudsters, VKontakte uses automatic tools based on artificial intelligence, and also promptly responds to user requests," he said.
RBC sent a request to Telegram.
What the experts say
Leading specialist of the Digital Risk Protection Department of FACCT Evgeny Egorov called this scheme new and "quite advanced" for Russia, although such cases have been encountered abroad. "Fraudsters have long been using both "hijacking" Telegram accounts and fake mailings asking to borrow money, but in this case, the scammers have put together all the parts of their constructor," the expert noted. He explains that at the first stage, a Telegram or WhatsApp account is hacked, for example, through fake votes, a wave of which was observed at the end of last year. Then, the fraudsters download the saved voice messages and, using artificial intelligence services, synthesize new "votes" with the necessary context, Egorov noted. Finally, messages are sent to "personal messages" or group chats asking to borrow a large sum of money, using "votes" generated by artificial intelligence and a photoshopped bank card with a fake recipient name to make the message more convincing.
First, criminals gain access to an account, then start writing to potential victims from the owner's contact list asking them to transfer money. The criminals back up the story about the need for help with a voice message allegedly from the account owner. The audio message uses clips from his real old voice messages.
The audio message is germany whatsapp number database duplicated in personal correspondence and in all chats where the owner of the stolen account is a member. Then a photo of a bank card with the first and last name is sent. Moreover, the victim's interlocutor RBC's first and last name in social networks differed from the information in the passport, and the fraudsters used the passport data. The amount that the criminals wanted to get was 200 thousand rubles.
One of the VKontakte users faced a similar situation. In this case, the loss was 3 thousand rubles.
A VKontakte representative assured that there are no mass fraudulent actions with such mechanics on their platform. "The social network's security systems successfully counteract such actions. To combat fraudsters, VKontakte uses automatic tools based on artificial intelligence, and also promptly responds to user requests," he said.
RBC sent a request to Telegram.
What the experts say
Leading specialist of the Digital Risk Protection Department of FACCT Evgeny Egorov called this scheme new and "quite advanced" for Russia, although such cases have been encountered abroad. "Fraudsters have long been using both "hijacking" Telegram accounts and fake mailings asking to borrow money, but in this case, the scammers have put together all the parts of their constructor," the expert noted. He explains that at the first stage, a Telegram or WhatsApp account is hacked, for example, through fake votes, a wave of which was observed at the end of last year. Then, the fraudsters download the saved voice messages and, using artificial intelligence services, synthesize new "votes" with the necessary context, Egorov noted. Finally, messages are sent to "personal messages" or group chats asking to borrow a large sum of money, using "votes" generated by artificial intelligence and a photoshopped bank card with a fake recipient name to make the message more convincing.