Telegram's Ad Scandal Exposed
41sThe segment reveals a controversial claim that Telegram, despite its rules, allows scam ads, sparking curiosity and debate.
▶ Play Clip"The title promises to reveal 'that same advertising in Telegram', and the video delivers a thorough investigation with concrete examples, though it includes a lengthy sponsor segment and some tangents."
This video investigates the prevalence of scam advertisements within Telegram's official advertising platform, despite the messenger's stated policies against such content. The creator conducts a personal experiment by running and observing ads, uncovering multiple instances of fraudulent schemes, including fake investment platforms, gambling promotions, and crypto scams. The video highlights the gap between Telegram's advertising rules and their enforcement, offering a critical look at the platform's moderation failures.
The video opens by noting that Telegram, with its billion users, is associated with fraudulent sales and illegal services, and that the platform's advertising system may inadvertently promote such content.
The creator explains that Telegram has a built-in advertising platform with rules that prohibit ads for gambling, misleading financial products, and other dubious content, but questions whether these rules are actually enforced.
The video notes that many dubious channels exist on Telegram without direct advertising, including stores selling illegal items and scammers offering exam answers, highlighting a broader issue of scam content on the platform.
Telegram launched embedded advertising in 2021, with ads filling the entire screen and a Premium subscription to hide them. Initially, the entry threshold was high (2 million euros), but later dropped to around 500 euros, making it accessible to smaller advertisers.
Telegram promised not to allow outright scammers into its ad system, but the video suggests this promise has not been kept, as evidenced by the scams encountered during the experiment.
Telegram's advertising policy explicitly prohibits graphic content, hate speech, gambling, misleading financial products, drugs, and other questionable items, with specific examples provided for each category.
The video mentions stories of users losing money to 'drainers'—fraudsters who use Telegram's ad system to promote fake crypto giveaways, tricking users into connecting their wallets and losing assets.
The scheme involves fraudsters publishing ads for free coin drops, directing users to connect their TON wallet, which then sends a transaction that, if confirmed, drains the wallet. One user lost over $50,000 in tokens.
Ads for remote work with high pay lead to 'specialists' who then pitch investments in fake oil and gas companies like 'Gazprom Invest', pressuring users to invest money.
The creator ran ads on Telegram for several days, subscribed to various channels, and observed the ads that appeared, initially seeing harmless ones from real estate and car companies.
After a few hours, the creator encountered a scam ad for a bookmaker's office, which violated Telegram's rules against gambling ads, highlighting a direct contradiction with the policy.
The creator found an ad for 'lazy' work, which turned out to be a scheme where a manager offered to register on a bookmaker's site and place bets with 'his money', a typical scam or referral scheme.
The creator encountered multiple ads for online casinos and slots, including links to SM mirrors and open casino ads, which are explicitly prohibited by Telegram's rules.
The creator found a bot promising a free book, which after providing a phone number, started making incessant calls to teach about investing, despite pressing 'Don't Call'.
An ad for a crypto project led to a channel with only five subscribers, promoting a site that promised $25 profit daily for a $99 investment, a classic financial pyramid with a referral system.
The creator sent reports about the scam ads for several days from various accounts, but received no response, indicating a lack of effective moderation.
The creator notes other violations like ads for intelligence, strange clickers, and lunar horoscopes, which are less severe but still against the rules.
The creator suggests that buying Telegram Premium is a way to avoid seeing ads, effectively paying for protection from scams, and jokingly adds this to the list of premium benefits.
The creator concludes by asking viewers to share their own experiences with Telegram scams in the comments and reminds them to be cautious online.
The video demonstrates that Telegram's advertising platform, despite its rules, is rife with scams, including gambling, fake investments, and crypto pyramids. The creator's experiment reveals significant moderation failures, suggesting that users should be cautious and consider premium subscriptions to avoid such ads.
What is the minimum budget required to run ads on Telegram's platform?
Around 500 euros, down from an initial 2 million euros.
02:39
What type of content is explicitly prohibited in Telegram's advertising policy?
Gambling, misleading financial products, drugs, hate speech, and graphic content.
03:20
How do 'drainer' scams work on Telegram?
Fraudsters promote fake crypto giveaways, tricking users into connecting their TON wallet, which then sends a transaction that drains the wallet if confirmed.
04:09
What was the creator's first scam ad encountered during the experiment?
An advertisement for a bookmaker's office, which violated Telegram's rules against gambling ads.
06:09
What is the recommended way to avoid seeing scam ads on Telegram?
Purchasing a Telegram Premium subscription.
10:24
User Stories of Loss
Provides real-world evidence of the scams, making the issue tangible.
03:56Drainer Scheme Explained
Clearly explains a common scam mechanism, which is educational for viewers.
04:09First Scam Ad Found
Demonstrates the moderation failure in real-time, supporting the video's thesis.
06:09Crypto Pyramid Scheme
Highlights a blatant financial pyramid, showing the audacity of scammers.
08:49Premium as Protection
Offers a practical solution, though it may be seen as a promotional angle.
10:24[00:01] billion people, which is often associated with fraudulent sales of substances and illegal services, recently resulted in an international scandal: aiding crime, condemnation of the actions of law enforcement agencies
[00:14] by society. Yes, the product provides a certain anonymity, which is used by Telegram itself is not to blame and does not contribute to the deception of ordinary users or sales are prohibited. After all, this is not entirely true. Today I will show you how
[00:28] through its own advertising platform. Does the messenger really follow its rules and does not allow ads with bookmakers or casinos? How by clicking on built-in Telegram advertising? Why you shouldn't click even on
[00:41] remote work if the built-in promotion contains Crypto scammers, infocygans, shop managers with prohibited or a downright 100% scam in the form of I conducted my own experiment to show you how Telegram advertises
[00:55] show you how Telegram advertises Unintentional scammers. But that's what it is, or am I just clickbait in general? Enjoy
[01:07] can find many dubious channels on Telegram, and without direct advertising from the messenger itself, there are stores with illegal groups with trashy content. And during exam periods, hundreds of sellers of answers to the Unified State Exam and other things, but naturally, almost all such dealers are
[01:21] just scammers who will block you after payment. So, it's worth thinking about successfully passing exams in advance. The online school Sotka Professional can help with this. The teachers have already managed to prepare 250,000 students, and
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[02:26] embedded advertising. The implementation has not really let us down. The ads are currently fill the entire screen. You can also hide them by simply purchasing a Premium subscription. Personally, I thought that only big players could get into these companies. At the time of
[02:39] budget was 2 million euros, which obviously could only be afforded by However, subsequently, the entry threshold was significantly reduced, since it thanks to numerous agencies, essentially having from 500 euros per
[02:54] is shown to subscribers of any multi-million publics, it is enough to indicate their links in the appropriate field. It is still cool. The development of small brands, maybe even small businesses or niche tools, unfortunately, is not
[03:06] promised not to allow outright scammers, companies, and simply dubious characters into its system, this is exactly what happened. Although if you study simply impossible, except for the obvious, such as Taboos, drugs, weapons,
[03:20] advertising prohibit the following for promotion on the platform: graphic shocking or solo content, content containing hatred, harassment, content that violates the rights of third parties, advertising that is predatory or
[03:32] misleading, content with politics, religion, and other sensitive topics, gambling, misleading or harmful financial products, drugs and dietary supplements, products of questionable legality. Each item contains
[03:44] examples and explanations. What makes the list quite specific. As a subscriber to Telegram Premium, I basically didn’t see any advertising. However, a few months ago, against the backdrop of a wave of popularity, Talk began to receive stories of people who
[03:56] lost money for violating several The points of the above-discussed policy by -called drainers through the built-in system. The scheme is simple: a fraudster promotion and publishes ads for a free drop. Just follow the link
[04:09] and collect the coins. Collectors use the names of well-known projects, from hamsters and freebies, the user must link their Tone wallet, which ultimately leads to the loss of all personal assets. But how does it work? After connecting Tone
[04:22] Connect, the system sends a transaction to the victim. If you confirm it, the mouse in the wallet. Nothing supernatural, just relying on example of how, in search of a freebie, a user gave a scam bot more than
[04:35] $50,000. Various tokens as a bonus. An anonymous number worth 12,000 evergreens. Not bad advertising, really. It's funny to read such stories if you remember the scandals at the start of Telegram ads when Burger King
[04:47] Because he banned fast food advertising, evil bots and those stealing user savings are a big deal. Sometimes, ads inside Telegram can lead you to ad text: Remote work required.
[05:02] rubles per day. Posts don't trigger any triggers after clicking on the link. Filling out work, like removing a fund from a photo. However, if you write to a so-called Char specialist, you'll suddenly be offered to invest in oil and gas. A stark
[05:16] about a fake organization called Gazprom Invest. In this context, it's a money. If you refuse at the start, investment fund employees will pester you for a long time with messages and calls, pressuring you.
[05:29] The thought immediately occurred to Thomas that they could use the same scheme to recruit couriers for various shops, but Hope has arisen. Perhaps cases have emerged. Eat a single moderation flaw. Mistakes are made by all kinds of stories on the internet. There weren't
[05:42] own experiment. For several days, Moni was running ads in the messenger. I logged into a subscribed to dozens of Telegram channels, including my own, and I recommend you do. I tell you a lot of interesting things about my personal life and share my opinion on news
[05:55] hours, everything was quite harmless. I came across really good ads -known real estate companies, plus various cars. In general, the same image-building Telegram advertising as I imagined before
[06:09] diving into the topic. But after a few hours, I suddenly managed to get to a scam ad was an advertisement for a bookmaker's office. The link led to an officially even taking into account that this is not a mirror of friends from the ad with the reels. Where
[06:23] did point 5.6 of the rules go? I even reread it. Maybe I missed some exception. No, it's disappear. Online or offline gambling is also not promoted. I wo n't matthew, after all. Ling is a sphere in which a person has some kind of A chance
[06:37] Telegram's violation of its own rules and moving on. The next atypical the lazy." I love this kind of thing. I'm a blogger, right? That's why I immediately bought rewriting text with photos for 3,500 a day to creating Excel spreadsheets with a
[06:51] similar price. However, after just an hour of work, the channel itself lacked any trigger for us to be dragged into investing again. In The manager offered to register on the bookmaker's website, send
[07:04] the details, place bets with his money, saying he would send 5,000 rubles, together we 'll make 10 x's and I'll take part of the profit. In general, a typical scam scheme. Alternatively, they simply make money on the referral system,
[07:17] companies pay a couple of hundred and sometimes thousands of rubles for bringing in new gambling addicts. Why, then, did I highlight this case? Well, let's look at paragraph 54 of the rules: advertising must not contain false, inappropriate information. Again, a direct contradiction to its own
[07:31] prohibited list. Okay, so what? If you could turn a come across any links to SM mirrors, it's an open casino ad. Sorry, this is too much, and I've seen something like this more than once, twice, or even three times. Slots on third-party
[07:43] sites. A slot inside Telegram. Slots that can be hacked and earned. Or slots. Correct my stress. Yes, I've heard that Telegram has trouble with technical support and moderation, but in this case, it wasn't even necessary to
[07:55] write to a fake manager to understand that the user is being sucked into a scam. The same thing happens ads appeared in almost every channel that talks about finance, simple Google search shows that the person behind the ads has a
[08:09] very negative reputation online. Some of the projects I came across experiment, I went into this bot, they promised a free book to start my phone number. And it's important, I pressed the "Don't Call" button. As expected, they sent me a
[08:23] PDF file with superficial information and started calling incessantly, even after I picked up the phone and said not to do it. It's logical that the average frequency of attempts to teach me about investing is 2 C2 calls per minute. I even had time to
[08:35] simply threw the number into Bomber, but finishing the working day, turned off the laptop and decided to go to another a description of the latest industry news. Join to get C20. Usually,
[08:49] under such advertisements, novice crypto projects were hiding. A couple of thousand But after clicking on this specific link, the messenger transferred me to a channel with five subscribers and there was not even a hint of the coveted coins. The creation date was 5
[09:02] days before my transition. The first two posts showed the price of Ether on the platforms, some kind of incomprehensible graph. Then a series of messages from an advertisement for a certain site bvg and the amounts that are capable of fogging any user. Invest $99 and
[09:14] receive $25 in profit every day. There is more, I throw in as much as I can, I record 30-40% of net income in 24 hours, obvious, banal, ordinary. What characterize this financial pyramid? The site itself is made on the knee, very line,
[09:28] some buttons don't work. There is a scripted line showing the lucky ones who earned every second, and for registration you need an invite code. A referral system, everything you need, you can earn up to 12% of the
[09:40] points of the rules for placing ads were violated in this case, I won't even count because at the moment I was sincerely burned by such an open scam. I even sent reports for several days from various accounts to no avail for about 10
[09:55] managed to collect more than 1,000 subscribers. Perhaps with advertising, perhaps with cheating. Then, most likely, the company's budget ran out, as did spam posts. Apparently, now hoping for the final receipts from referrals. Against this background, The
[10:10] rest of the cases of moderation failure didn't seem so harsh to me. Although before the recommendation that could be called a hypocritical violation of the rules with a stretch: advertising of intelligence, strange clickers and Morko besi like selling lunar horoscopes, but
[10:24] became a trifle, at least for me. It's advertising is by purchasing a Telegram Premium subscription, which was messenger). In short, in addition to stickers and other not particularly necessary bonuses, you
[10:38] also get protection from scams. I would suggest adding this point to the list of premium. That's how I'm a real hater today in this video. Yes, condemn me in the comments. Write in the comments what I didn't have time to record in this video.
[10:51] Maybe there is some even more severe scam or some kind of black stuff. It's interesting to read about it. And friends, I remind you that this video is created what the Internet is like and how to avoid being scammed and not
[11:04] engage in shady dealings. This was Sani Kharchenko. Thank you all for to my YouTube channel. Also, an interesting comment below the video.
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