A Telegram bot is a third-party automated account that can receive messages, send replies, and trigger workflows inside the Telegram platform. Bots are legitimate tools for alerts, support, and automation, but attackers also abuse them to collect data at scale. A bot can act like a simple intake form, asking victims for phone numbers, codes, recovery phrases, or wallet details and forwarding that information to an operator.
In cyber attacks, Telegram bots are attractive because they are easy to deploy, familiar to users, and can hide the collection process inside an ordinary chat interface. They may be used for phishing, credential theft, spam coordination, or exfiltration from compromised devices and fake support channels. Defenders should treat any unexpected Telegram chat that requests sensitive information as suspicious, verify identities through trusted channels, and monitor for bot-driven data collection as part of broader social-engineering abuse.