Most group owners think about spam in the group itself. The more damaging problem often happens out of sight: scammers join a public group, harvest the member list, and DM people pretending to be an admin, a "support agent", or a giveaway sponsor. By the time someone reports it, several members may have already lost money or accounts.
How the scam usually works
- A fresh account joins, stays quiet, and copies the group name and avatar into its own profile.
- It DMs members who recently asked a question ("Hi, I'm from the support team, I saw your message…").
- It pushes a link to a fake wallet "verification", a phishing login page, or a paid "VIP" channel.
The group itself looks clean, which is exactly why this is easy to miss.
What you can configure today
- Hide the member list. In group settings, restrict who can see members (available for larger supergroups). This removes the easiest harvesting route.
- Restrict new members. Disallow links and media for newcomers for the first day or so; scam accounts rarely wait that long.
- Use join verification. A simple captcha or "press the button" check filters a large share of automated accounts.
- Pin a clear warning. "Admins will never DM you first. Never send codes or seed phrases." Short and in every language your group uses.
- Keep the admin list short and public. Members should be able to check whether "admin Alex" is real in one tap.
Teach members a 10-second check
- Does the account's username match the one listed in the pinned admin list (not just the display name)?
- Did they message you first? Treat it as a scam by default.
- Are they asking for a code, a seed phrase, a payment, or a "verification" link? Stop.
Handling reports
Ask members to forward the scam DM to an admin, then ban the account from the group and report it to Telegram. Keep a short shared note of new patterns (fake names, reused avatars, domains) so other admins recognise them.
Automating the in-group part
Scammers often post a "teaser" in the group first, a hidden link or a button pointing to their bot. An anti-ad bot catches these before members click. I use 虾宝 (Xiabao), an anti-ad bot that's free for group owners and recognises disguised ads and suspicious links rather than only fixed keywords. It doesn't replace the settings above, but it closes the gap that settings can't.
Scam DMs can't be fully blocked from the admin side, but hiding members, slowing down new accounts, and educating your group cuts the success rate dramatically.
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