To make a call using a bot, you need to pay a certain amount. After that, you need to specify the number you want to call and the number displayed for an incoming call. “If the caller through the bot indicates the phone number recorded in the subscriber’s contacts in the outgoing number, then the recorded name will be displayed on the called device at the time of the call,” says Yaroslav Kargalev, head of the Group-IB information security center. Thus, fraudsters can introduce themselves as relatives, friends, or bank employees. It is noteworthy that you do not need to leave Telegram for the bot to function since IP telephony technologies are already built into the application.

Number spoofing works as follows: each subscriber of a voice operator has two identifiers – ANI (automatic number identification) and Caller ID. ANI is a fixed identifier that cannot be manipulated. It is through its definition that law enforcement agencies can de-anonymize a subscriber. At the same time, he is not recorded by telephones and is not displayed in any way. But Caller ID is already directly the very phone number displayed on the screen, and it can be changed. It is with the help of Caller ID substitution that the very bot works; however, it is not known based on which SIP telephony works.

Yaroslav Kargalev notes that if the bot developers agree to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, it will be much easier to identify telephone scammers with its help.