According to United Nations Trading of Stolen Data Continues on Telegram
According to a recent report by the United Nations, stolen information of around the world, internet users such as credit card details, passwords and data on people’s internet activities are being openly sold on Telegram.
According to a official report by the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Telegram channels on the app are not heavily monitored due to which these activities are widespread.
Tools used for cybercrime, such as deepfake software to create fake pictures or videos and malware ( virus ) to steal data, are also widely sold, while illegal through unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges operating on the application. The transfer of funds is also ongoing.
According to the report that there is concrete evidence of illegal data buying and selling centers moving to Telegram. Vendors in these centers are targeting transnational crime groups operating in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia has become a major and important hub for fraud schemes where fraudsters target people around the world. According to UN report many Chinese groups are involved in them. These groups operate in highly safe, hidden locations where human trafficked workers are brought illegally. According to UNODC, the annual volume of this industry is around about 27.4 billion to 36.5 billion dollars.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Telegram, Russian born Pavel Durov, was arrested in Paris in August. They were accused of failing to prevent the spread of child sexual exploitation content and other criminal activities on their social platforms.
Pavel Durov, who is now out on bail, says that if a legal entity requests information about the application, the app management will provide official user data such as their personal IP address, phone number and other details.
He further said that such kind of features on the app which were being used for illegal activities will also be removed.
According to the Benedict Hoffman, UNODC’s deputy representative for East Asia and the Pacific, officially says the app is very easy to use for illegal and criminal purposes. “For consumers, this means that the risk of their personal data being used for fraud and other illegal activities is already increased,” he told Reuters.
These kind of groups made so much profit from their illegal operations that they needed to incorporate advanced technology, such as malware virus, generative artificial intelligence capable of creating different type of content, and deepfake pictures and videos software, to sustain it.
According to the UNODC has identified around about 10 software providers that have provided official technical support to organized crime groups in Southeast Asia.
