Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, an account on the Telegram messaging platform posing as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged his armed forces to surrender. Such instructions could actually endanger people — citizens receive air strike warnings via smartphone alerts. Since January 2022, the SC has received a total of 47 complaints and enquiries on illegal investment schemes promoted through Telegram. These fraudulent schemes offer non-existent investment opportunities, promising very attractive and risk-free returns within a short span of time. They commonly offer unrealistic returns of as high as 1,000% within 24 hours or even within a few hours. Lastly, the web previews of t.me links have been given a new look, adding chat backgrounds and design elements from the fully-features Telegram Web client. As such, the SC would like to remind investors to always exercise caution when evaluating investment opportunities, especially those promising unrealistically high returns with little or no risk. Investors should also never deposit money into someone’s personal bank account if instructed.
from tw
