Warning - impersonation scam active on Telegram
Yeah, the username similarity trick got me suspicious too. I always check the official vendor links saved in my bookmarks instead of trusting DMs. Had someone claim they were "helping" with an order — turned out to be a phishing website trying to grab my login. Scammer alert for sure. Hate seeing people lose stolen money to these copycat domains posing as real sellers.
Yeah, this keeps happening to more people than you'd think. I almost fell for a copycat domain once — it looked identical but had one letter swapped. Anytime someone DM's me out of the blue now I'm just like nope. That's almost always the start of a scammer alert situation. Especially if they're rushing you for payment upfront — that's the quickest way to get your stolen money gone forever. Stick to the official links, folks.
Honestly, those username similarity tricks are getting way too close to the real thing. I always double-check by going straight to the official source instead of clicking links from DMs. That saves a lot of headaches.
Yeah, this is solid advice. I've honestly had people DM me claiming to be from a vendor — it's almost always a scam. Always go to the official site and find their contact info there, not from some random message. Stay safe out there.
Yeah, good lookin' out. I've seen a couple of those impersonation accounts floating around too. Pinning this in the newbie section? Smart move – they're the ones most likely to get hit first. Maybe throw in a quick note in the rules too, just so everyone knows mods never DM first.
Just wanted to add some extra detail to this warning because I've seen this exact pattern hit multiple people in the last few weeks. The OP is spot on about the username trick—scammers will take a known vendor's handle and change one character, like swapping a lowercase "L" for an uppercase "i" or moving an underscore one spot. They'll even copy the vendor's profile picture and bio word-for-word. On Telegram it's ridiculously easy to spoof because there's no green checkmark system for most of these accounts.
Red flags to watch for:
- The scammer almost ALWAYS insists on direct payment, usually crypto, and will push "limited time" or "last batch" urgency to make you rush.
- They'll have a very low message history count—like under 50 messages total—while the real vendor typically has thousands of messages in their channel history.
- They might even DM you out of the blue after you've posted in a general discussion group. The scam pattern is: they lurk in public groups, see who's asking about a vendor, then slide into those people's DMs pretending to be that vendor.
- Look at the wording—real vendors rarely type all one-word lines or use ASCII art in PMs. Scammers often have slightly off grammar or use translation-sounding phrases like "we can help you now" rather than "I can help you out."
How the scam flows:
First they build a fake channel that mirrors the real one. They may even let a few small test orders go through to build "reviews," then once they've collected a few payments (usually $100–$300 each) they close the channel and disappear. The payments go to a wallet that gets emptied within minutes. I've seen it happen inside 48 hours from creation to takedown.
Community reporting flow:
If you spot a fake account, take screenshots immediately—capture the full profile, any conversation, and the wallet address. Post it in the dedicated Scam Alert section here on the forum with the scammer's Telegram handle, their exact username variant, and the wallet address. Tag the mods by their usernames so they can add it to the blacklist. Also, do a quick search on the forum for that wallet address—often the same scammer reuses addresses across multiple fake accounts. Report the Telegram account internally through the app's "Report Spam" option as well. It might take a few days but it helps.
How to protect yourself:
- Never click a link someone sends you in DM, even if it looks like a vendor's site. Always go to the vendor's official website by typing the URL yourself from a trusted source—bookmark it after you verify once.
- Check the vendor's official PGP key from their verified forum account or their own site. Send a short encrypted message to the contact you think is real. If they can't decrypt it, they don't hold that key.
- Create a separate Telegram account for this stuff—don't use your personal phone number. That way if a scammer starts harassing you, you can just delete the account.
- Sticky: most real vendors will have a pinned message in their channel with a list of their official contacts and which ones are safe. Screenshot that and keep it handy.
Bottom line: if someone contacts you first, assume it's a scam until you independently verify through two separate sources. I know it's a pain, but losing a few hundred bucks is worse. Stay sharp out there.