The digital fraud landscape is undergoing a major shake-up: Telegram has become the platform where cyber scams have skyrocketed. In the last year, both globally and in Spain, criminals are gradually abandoning the most visible social networks to operate in private and encrypted messaging environments, where it is much more difficult to track them.
According to fourth edition of the Revolut Consumer Safety and Financial Crime ReportThis messaging application already accounts for a fifth of all fraud detected worldwide and has established itself as a particularly attractive channel for complex scams, since fake job offers including phantom purchase schemes or impossible investments.
Telegram, epicenter of the growth of digital fraud
On a global scale, the Revolut study reflects that Cases of fraud originating on Telegram have increased a 233% increase compared to 2024. This is not a small increase, but a very rapid escalation that has positioned this app as the platform where scams are growing the most in the entire digital ecosystem.
That leap means that Telegram now accounts for 21% of all scams reported to Revolut internationallyThat is, approximately one in five fraud complaints analyzed by the entity originates on this messaging network, which combines private chats, large groups and a level of anonymity that complicates the task of monitoring.
The report's analysts warn that this encrypted environment It has become a particularly fertile ground for the most sophisticated deceptions.Cybercriminals take advantage of both the sense of intimacy in conversations and the speed with which messages, links, or supposed business opportunities can be spread.
This dynamic, according to the entity, confirms a paradigm shift in the way online scams operateFraud is gradually abandoning more open networks to move to encrypted messaging applications, where the level of supervision and reporting is significantly lower.
Spain: Telegram, the social network with the most reported scams
The phenomenon is not foreign to our country. In Spain, Telegram ranked as the social network with the highest number of detected scams in 2025., by concentrating 22% of all reported cases, according to the data from the same report.
The financial institution explains that Criminals are exploiting the private and encrypted nature of the platform to scale their operations "very quickly." The result is a scenario in which more and more victims come into contact with scammers through chats and groups that, at first glance, may seem harmless or even trustworthy.
In the Spanish case, the pattern is clear: Scams related to online shopping are the most frequentIn 2025, they accounted for 53% of all reported frauds, more than half of the total. The scams ranged from fake stores and products that never arrive to cloned websites of well-known brands or popular e-commerce platforms.
This type of fraud usually relies on eye-catching offers, aggressive discounts, and very well-crafted advertisements which redirect to fraudulent websites. Once the payment is made, the consumer is left without the product and without the money, and the possibility of recovering the lost amount is, in practice, very limited.
Fake job offers: a goldmine for scammers
Beyond purchases, the report identifies another particularly worrying trend: Scams involving fake job offers have tripled worldwideThis type of scam already represents 22% of all fraud cases recorded in 2025.
Telegram plays a leading role here. where channels and groups dedicated to supposed vacancies, work from home or "opportunities" to generate extra income with very simple tasks proliferate.
The modus operandi usually follows a similar pattern: A high salary or quick profits are promised in exchange for minimal tasks.such as rating products, writing reviews, or performing small online actions. In many cases, the victim is asked to make a prepayment to access materials, training, or work tools, or small transfers are requested under the pretext of unlocking levels, commissions, or new phases of the supposed employment.
Once the person has transferred enough money, The people in charge of the channel disappear without a trace.They block contact or close the group, and then replicate the same scheme with new accounts and new victims. The economic climate and the search for supplemental income have made it easier for these types of scams to find a particularly vulnerable audience.
The report highlights that the feeling of closeness that a chat conversation conveysThis, combined with quick responses and seemingly professional language, contributes to many people not suspecting anything until the damage is already done.
Meta remains the leader in volume, TikTok skyrockets
Although Telegram is the channel where fraud is growing the most, It is not yet the platform with the highest absolute volumeThat role continues to be filled by the networks of the Meta ecosystem, which includes services such as Facebook and Instagram.
According to Revolut's data, Meta platforms account for 44% of all reported scams in 2025This accounts for almost half of the total, maintaining the company's position as the leading source of digital fraud for the fourth consecutive period. The combination of a massive audience and a highly targeted advertising system makes it easy for fraudsters to continue finding fertile ground there.
The report also focuses on TikTok, whose fraud rate has increased sixfold in a single yearAlthough the absolute volume of scams detected on this network is still lower than on Meta or Telegram, the growth rate is very high, which suggests that cybercriminals are starting to exploit its short video format and its huge reach among young users more intensely.
Overall, the study draws an increasingly fragmented fraud ecosystemwhere criminals don't stick to a single platform and adapt their tactics to the type of audience and the tools offered by each service.
Fraudulent advertising and millions in profits
The spread of fraud is not limited to private chats or direct messages. Online advertising has become another key lever for cyber scams.generating billions in revenue for the platforms that host these ads.
An analysis by Juniper Research, cited in the Revolut report, estimates that The parent companies of the main social networks earned around 4.400 billion euros in Europe in 2025. originating from fraudulent advertisements. These are paid campaigns that promote nonexistent investments, fake stores, raffles that never take place, or service promotions that actually aim to capture bank details.
The sophistication of these advertisements is increasing: Advanced segmentation techniques and artificial intelligence tools are used to mimic the visual identity of legitimate brands, personalize messages, and target particularly vulnerable profiles, such as job seekers or users interested in saving or investing.
In practice, this means that Fraud is integrated into the regular flow of content we see every day.mixed with legitimate advertising, making it extremely difficult to distinguish at a glance what is real and what is a carefully designed attempt at deception.
The regulatory response in the European Union and in Spain
Given this scenario, European and national authorities are taking action, although the financial sector itself insists that There is still much left to doThe European Union is working to strengthen the regulatory framework through the upcoming Payment Services Regulation (PSR) and a specific strategy to combat online fraud.
These initiatives seek clarify the obligations of digital platforms and payment service providersStrengthening supervisory mechanisms and improving information sharing between banks, regulators, and technology companies to react more quickly to new fraud patterns.
In Spain, the Revolut report stands out positively. the recently introduced regulations to tackle digital scamswhich emphasize cooperation between banks, telecommunications operators and social networks, as well as the obligation to adopt more demanding preventive measures.
However, the organization warns that The accelerated growth of fraud on online platforms demands a redoubling of regulatory efforts.It calls for strengthening the responsibilities of platforms that host content and advertisements, improving systems for detecting and removing suspicious campaigns, and moving towards a framework where prevention is as important as reacting once the scam has been carried out.
In this context, Revolut insists that User protection must become a shared priority across the entire industryFrom banks and payment gateways to social networks and messaging applications, especially those, like Telegram, that have been placed at the center of the new digital fraud scenario.
The picture painted by the latest data is clear: Telegram is now experiencing the largest increase in cyber scams, both in Spain and in the rest of the world.With a strong presence of fraudulent online purchases and fake job offers, while Meta remains the main focus of fraud by volume and TikTok is rapidly gaining ground; all this in an environment where deceptive advertising moves billions and forces us to constantly strengthen regulation and prevention measures so as not to always be one step behind cybercriminals.