Another cybercrime got into the picture and now they are using Telegram. Hackers are reportedly using a malicious Telegram bot known as ‘Telekopye’ to pull off huge phishing scams. The researcher Radek Jizba from ESETResearch stated that Telekopye which is a highly sophisticated tool enables criminals to create convincing phishing emails, SMS messages, websites and more. Neanderthals is a group of threat creators/hackers which is managed to present themselves as a legitimate company, and letting them to function within a structured framework.
Aspiring members will be recruited through underground forums and will be granted access to specific Telegram channels, where they can communicate with other members and further monitor the ongoing operations.
The Neanderthals' main goal is to commit one of the three types of scams:
- Seller
- Buyer
- Refund
Seller scams
It involves the duping of unsuspecting victims, dubbed Mammoths, into buying nonexistent items. Buyer scams will further involve Neanderthals imitating the buyers in order to trick merchants (also known as Mammoths) into the disclosed financial information.
Refund scams
This occurred when Neanderthals misled the Mammoths by believing that they were offering a refund only to deduct the same amount of money again.
The Neanderthals further used a variety of strategies to successfully carry out these scams.
How are these seller scams attempted?
To attempt a seller scam, the user will be provided with additional photos of the non-existent item for the Mammoths to request more information. They also manipulate internet images to make reverse image searches more difficult.
Buyer scams involve careful planning and research.
The report says that Neanderthals will choose their targets which will be based on factors such as gender, age, experience in online marketplaces, completed trades, ratings, reviews and the type of items they sell- enabling them to tailor their approach and increase the chances of success.
To entice Mammoths, the Neanderthals will also engage in real estate fraud, creating false apartment listings.
They remain anonymous by using proxies, TOR and VPNs, making it difficult for the authorities to track them down.
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Inputs from IANS
