Guide on how to stay safer on Telegram
- GA-SO
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Most job recruitment ads that later get reported as scams may start on social media and eventually lead to Telegram.
Telegram is one of the top 5 most downloaded apps in the world. In 2025, it passed 1 billion monthly active users.
Let's say you respond to a job posting on social media, whether it is LinkedIn, Reddit, or Facebook. If you are asked to move the conversation to Telegram, you must take precautions. Below we share an essential tip for any conversation you may have on Telegram.
Why Telegram?
Telegram is an encrypted messenging app that claims to not collect any data on its users, only the phone number used to sign up for its service.
Telegram was founded by Pavel Durov, who is currently the CEO. According to the Telegram website, “Pavel started Telegram after he left Russia in 2014, after losing control of his previous company for refusing to hand over the data of Ukrainian protesters to security agencies” (New York Times link from Telegram website). The app claims to be committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech, like the popular encrypted messenging app Signal.
Why do scammers like Telegram?
Through app testing and open source intelligence research, it seems that there is one feature of Telegram that attracks more malicious actors than any other platform: The ability to permanently delete a chat history from the sender.
That’s why you if you ever use Telegram, remember to take screenshots and record the information that you need.
What's the most dangerous feature?
Unlike Signal or any other messaging apps, Telegram includes a feature that allows a user to delete the entire chat history for every user in the chat. This feature is too often exploited by scammers and recruiters with ill intent.
Let's say in this scenario you have already responded to the job posting, and you are chatting with a recruiter on Telegram. Before they ask you for your full name and other personal details, please be advised that the recruiter can delete the chat at any time. A recruiter, who may have malicious intent, can delete the chat history at any point once they've decided they no longer need you. And that might be after you have given them personal information, or they have coaxed you into an investment that you can't get back, or they have asked you to do something that may be illegal, as examples. Then you are left holding the bag.
How to chat safer on Telegram?
These are some tips:
Take screenshots of the conversations frequently.
Before someone asks you for your full name, ask them for their full name.
If you are considering doing business on Telegram, remember to ask and capture the name of the person you're chatting with, their role, the company name, and the state/country where they operate. Take screenshots of this information and keep for your records.
When you are scammed, you need to keep track of your records and documents to begin to recover any lost funds. If the other user deletes the chat history for both of you, it is gone from the app forever. Unless you have proactively taken screenshots, your chance of recovery or reporting the perpetrator to the authorities becomes a lot more challenging.
What's next for Telegram?
Will Telegram add parameters around this feature that is too often exploited by scammers to protect more of its users? Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The only people we know who work at Telegram is the CEO and his brother and co-founder, Nikolai Durov. Pavel lives in Dubai and holds a dual citizenship for the United Arab Emirates and France, according to the Telegram website. According to the company LinkedIn page, Telegram has a “No LinkedIn” policy. This “No LinkedIn” policy specifies that any accounts claiming to be past or present employees never worked at Telegram. This means that aside from the owner, we don’t know who else works for Telegram or even how large is their workforce.
How did a secure messaging app with noble origins of protecting Ukranian protestors and promises to bring the right to privacy back to individual users through everyday messaging end up becoming a hotbed for criminal enterprises worldwide?
Keep taking screenshots. Don't let anyone delete your history for you.
