I also got dragged into different type of scam ICO Channels but what about private messages from unknown telegram users? is there anyway to block them as well,like only receive messages from friends
There are two ways to contact others in Telegram: username or phone number.
To disable phone number display:Settings ---> Privacy and Security ---> Phone number (Who can see my phone number). Choose Nobody.
To prevent strangers adding you into strange groups:You can got to Settings -----> Groups ------> My contacts (choose this option).
This option means only people in your phone contacts can add you to group chats.
To disable your Telegram usernameBy deleting your Telegram username, no one can search you, but if you join group chats for bounties, you can not apply this, because managers will not find you to check your activity, and you might be unqualified.
In case you are in bounty group chats as bounty participants, only thing you can do is reporting scammers to group chat's administrators.
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.