Things a Newbie needs to know on Telegram

[Raymondavid47]

There are some things that a Newbie need to know when joining a project Telegram group.
- Admins never pm your first. Anyone that pms you saying he/she is an admin of a project is probably lying to you and want to scam you.
- Don't share links to any other project websites or airdrop. It's called spamming. If you are reported and banned your account will bare the consequences.
- Don't spread Fudd. Projects don't like it. It can attract you a ban.
-  Don't send your kyc details to anyone on Telegram in exchange of anything. It's probably a scam.

[Sharon121212]

How about just simply taking a needed break from ico most of them are just not in any way worth the headache, time and funds. Even with newbies following the rules to avoid scam or whatsoever the project can end up scamming newbies or dieing off.
Also The more you join ico telegram group the higher your chances of someone adding you into another group(probably a scam)  

[joniboini]

Also The more you join ico telegram group the higher your chances of someone adding you into another group(probably a scam)  

You can avoid that if you allow invites from your contact only. It's on privacy settings iirc.

[1miau]

For increasing the security in Telegram I would advise to have a look at the settings. Personally, I disliked the standard settings of Telegram and I've changed most of them:

In Privacy and Security I would recommend to chose:

- Phone number (who can see my phone number) => my contacts
- Calls (who can call me) => my contacts
- Groups (who can add me to group chats) => my contacts

And of course it's important in Telegram that you don't use your real name and your real photo. There are too many scammers and I'm sure you don't want that a picture of you is used by scammers.

Also in the settings, in Data and Storage I've switched off everything to avoid downloading every bullshit automatically. In most cases the GIFs and pictures are only wasting storage of your device but in some cases (malware) I would rather be safe than sorry and advise everyone to switch off automated downloads:

- Automatic media download
   - when using mobile data => off
   - when connected on Wi-Fi => off
   - When roaming => off

- Automatic media play
    - GIFs => off
    - Videos => off

- Streaming
    - Stream videos and audio files => off

Telegram has many features but they can also be abused by scammers. So better take care and adjust your settings.  

[Pmalek]

Another tip how to detect that the person PMing you is a scammer is to look if you have any groups in common.

If you joined a groups and you receive a PM from someone pretending to be an admin of that group, it is logical to assume that you are both members of the same group. Click on his username and in the window that pops up there should be a field that displays how many groups you have in common.

If you don't have any groups in common it is safe to assume you are talking to a fraudster.
Scammers are not part of any groups because they use similar usernames like the groups admins. If they joined the groups with those similar names they would easily be spotted and banned. So they are just browsing around like vultures looking for easy prey.

[hugeblack]

Scammers, Icos, and signature campaigns have changes Telegram into a shity app. so I advise you not to use it at all.
Do not take your information or decisions based on others' comments because they are often paid.

-snip-

An important option is to prevent others from adding you to groups.
Settings  >> Privacy and Security >> Groups >> my contacts

Do not forget to be careful when choosing your contacts.

[Doranile432]

Since 2018 after the last bullrun I've noticed that many scammers are using telegram as a playing field for their scam behaviors,most of the times you will see them stealing group managers or project CEO identity to fool innocent victims and in return they will ask you to send ETH

[harizen]

Also in the settings, in Data and Storage I've switched off everything to avoid downloading every bullshit automatically. In most cases the GIFs and pictures are only wasting storage of your device but in some cases (malware) I would rather be safe than sorry and advise everyone to switch off automated downloads:

Just to be clear, there's no such thing as an automatic file (.exe) download in Telegram. Malware or any viruses mostly come in .exe file (or .apk for Android phones). If a user is active in groups, it's best to have this feature ON as they will need to click all images just to check what are those. They can set the size limit to a minimum. And it's not really a literal DOWNLOAD but just a small cache of it will be saved on the phone. Still, users need to click the "Save" before it will really end up on consuming the actual phone's storage.

But yes, I agree that it's better turned off those GIF and videos and just checked it manually if interested to see what are those.

At the end of the day, it's on our own hands to make sure everything is safe. Newbies or any users should always be cautious when clicking random links they will encounter on chat groups or channels and don't save random files in the phone.

[rosezionjohn]

You may also add the following:

- Do not be tempted to join telegram "add members" campaign. Most people do not like being added to random groups.
- Do not send random PM's to anyone unless you are asked to. There is a good chance that your account will be reported as a spammer and will be suspended by telegram.