New fraudulent scheme in the Telegram messenger: how to avoid becoming a victim of attackers

Scammers lure Ukrainians with a “free” premium subscription in Telegram.

A new fraudulent scheme is “thriving” on the Internet – Attackers are sending Telegram users messages about an alleged “gift” of a premium subscription with a request to activate it via a link.

This is reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CDC) at the National Security and Defense Council.

According to the CDC, Telegram messenger users have begun to receive messages about an alleged “gift” of a premium subscription until 2026 with a request to activate it via a link.

In fact, this is a fraudulent scheme, the purpose of which is – to seize users' personal data for further criminal actions.

“The interface and link format for the premium subscription gift have a different appearance and structure,” – warns the Center for Countering Disinformation.

Ukrainians are urged not to click on links from strangers, block the sender of the message, and set up two-factor authentication to protect their account.