Researchers Uncover Thriving Phishing Kit Market on Telegram Channels

Apr 07, 2023Ravie LakshmananCyber Threat / Online Security

In yet another sign that Telegram is increasingly becoming a
thriving hub^[1]
for cybercrime, researchers have found that threat actors are using
the messaging platform to peddle phishing kits and help set up
phishing campaigns.

“To promote their ‘goods,’ phishers create Telegram channels
through which they educate their audience about phishing and
entertain subscribers with polls like, ‘What type of personal data
do you prefer?’,” Kaspersky web content analyst Olga Svistunova
said^[2]
in a report published this week.

The links to these Telegram channels are distributed via
YouTube, GitHub, and the phishing kits that are developed by the
crooks themselves. The Russian cybersecurity firm said it detected
over 2.5 million malicious URLs generated using phishing kits in
the past six months.

One of the prominent services offered is to provide threat
actors with Telegram bots that automate the process of generating
phishing pages and collecting user data.

Although it’s the scammer’s responsibility to distribute the
fake login pages to targets of interest, the credentials captured
in those pages are sent back by means of another Telegram bot.

Other bot services go a step further by advertising options to
generate phishing pages that mimic a legitimate service, which are
then used to lure potential victims under the pretext of giving
away free likes on social media services.

“Scammer-operated Telegram channels sometimes post what appears
to be exceptionally generous offers, for example, zipped up sets of
ready-to-use phishing kits that target a large number of global and
local brands,” Svistunova said.

In some cases, phishers have also been observed sharing users’
personal data with other subscribers for free in hopes of
attracting aspiring criminals, only to sell paid kits to those who
wish to pull off more such attacks. The scammers further offer to
teach “how to phish for serious cash.”

Using free propositions is also a way for scammers to trick
cash-strapped and newbie criminals into using their phishing kits,
resulting in double theft^[3], where the stolen data
is also sent to the creator without their knowledge.

Paid services, on the other hand, include advanced kits that
boast of an appealing design and features like anti-bot^[4]
detection^[5], URL encryption and
geoblocking that threat actors could use to commit more advanced
social engineering schemes. Such pages cost anywhere between $10 to
$280.

Another paid category entails the sale of personal data, with
credentials of bank accounts advertised at different rates based on
the balance. For example, an account with a balance of $49,000 was
put up for $700.

What’s more, phishing services are marketed via Telegram on a
subscription basis (i.e., phishing-as-a-service or PhaaS^[6]), wherein the developers
rent the kits for a monthly fee in return for providing regular
updates.

Also promoted as a subscription is a one-time password (OTP) bot
that calls users and convinces them to enter the two-factor
authentication code on their phones to help bypass account
protections.

Setting up these services are relatively straightforward. What’s
more difficult is earning the trust and loyalty of the customers.
And some vendors go out of their way to assure that all the
information is encrypted so that no third-parties, including
themselves, can read it.

The findings also follow an advisory from Cofense earlier this
January, which revealed^[8]
an 800% increase year-over-year in the use of Telegram bots as
exfiltration destinations for phished information.

“Wannabe phishers used to need to find a way onto the dark web,
study the forums there, and do other things to get started,”
Svistunova said. “The threshold to joining the phisher community
lowered once malicious actors migrated to Telegram and now share
insights and knowledge, often for free, right there in the popular
messaging service.”