Bus Route Changes in Odesa
Due to traffic restrictions in Odesa, there have been changes to bus routes. Get the details here.
Fraudsters in Ukraine are increasingly creating fake chatbots that mimic volunteer and government services. Their goals vary from collecting personal information to stealing money.
Identifying and blocking such resources is quite challenging. Cyber police are working to tackle this issue, but new fraudulent pages keep appearing.
For example, a chatbot that reports on the movements of Russian troops has several clones. Other chatbots, like "Ukrzaliznytsia" for ticket purchases, also have their fakes. Some of these may turn out to be inactive, but at a critical moment, you risk being unable to purchase a ticket when you really need it. All these bots are uncontrolled, and their creators can change the ticket purchase mechanism at any time to steal your funds.
How to identify a fake bot?
Here are some signs of fake bots:
● They look almost identical to the real ones, differing only by minor details in the name or link.
● They lack a blue verification badge or have a counterfeit one that can be bought in the premium version of Telegram.
● They respond to you in Russian or have a Russian-language menu.
● They may be inactive, creating the impression that government services are unreliable.
To verify whether the bot you are using is legitimate, use the "Botchecker" tool on Dovidka.info.
What is Botchecker and how does it help?
It is a database of verified Ukrainian chatbots developed by specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications in collaboration with the cyber police and other authorities.
"In three years of operation, Botchecker has been used by about 100 thousand users. We created it in 2022, when government agencies actively started using chatbots in Telegram for quick communication with citizens. Unfortunately, fraudsters also began to exploit this. Our Botchecker helps people independently identify fake chatbots and protect their data," said Mykola Balaban, Deputy Head of the Center for Strategic Communications.
How to use Botchecker?
- Enter the name or link of the chatbot in the search field.
- Get information about its authenticity and developer.
- If the bot is not in the database and seems suspicious, report it to the cyber police via the chatbot @stopdrugsbot (BRAMA in Telegram).
Be cautious! Do not give the enemy a chance to deceive you and gain access to your data!
