A recent report released by the United Nations on Monday, October 7, 2024, has fingered Telegram, the popular social media app, as being extensively used for illegal activities, including gang operations and underground market trading. This report comes on the heels of France’s crackdown on Telegram, resulting in the arrest of its owner, Pavel Durov.
According to today’s report, Telegram’s platform is being exploited for illicit trades, including hacked data, malicious software, and money laundering services. The region of Southeast Asia has emerged as a hub for these schemes, generating a staggering $27-37 billion annually.
Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s deputy representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, warned that Telegram’s lax moderation creates an “easily navigable environment for criminals,” putting consumers’ data at risk. “For consumers, this means their data is at a higher risk of being fed into scams or other criminal activity than ever before,” Hofmann noted.
The report says that hacked data, including credit card details and passwords, are being openly traded on Telegram. Additionally, cybercrime tools such as deepfake software, data-stealing malware, and unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges are being marketed on the platform.
Southeast Asia has become a center for fraudulent schemes, with Chinese syndicates operating from fortified compounds and targeting victims worldwide. The sheer scale of profits has driven criminal groups to innovate, integrating new technologies like malware, generative artificial intelligence, and deepfakes.
In response to the allegations, Telegram founder Pavel Durov promised to cooperate with authorities and remove features that enable illegal activities. Following his arrest, Durov stated that Telegram would hand over users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities making legitimate law enforcement requests.
As investigations continue, including a probe into Telegram’s potential involvement in online sex crimes in South Korea, the platform’s future remains uncertain. With nearly 1 billion users, the stakes are high for Telegram to address these concerns and ensure a safer environment for its users.
However, analysts wonder if Telegram and Durov’s travails are indeed a covert attack on freedom of information and online privacy – a cause that Durov claims drove him to found Telegram in the first place.
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