Telegram became the fastest growing source of fraud in 2025

The data reported to Revolut shows a clear shift in crime trends: from traditional social networks to encrypted messaging platforms. This change reinforces the urgent need for cross-sector accountability across digital and telecommunications ecosystems to protect consumers.

Key findings from Revolut’s latest Consumer Security and Financial Crime Report:

• The rise of Telegram – Fraud originating from Telegram now accounts for a fifth (21%) of reported cases. Users may believe these platforms to be secure due to the encrypted nature of the app, but anonymity – which the platform emphasizes as a feature – has become a primary tool for fraudsters. This environment is particularly conducive to sophisticated deception: 58% of all job scams worldwide now originate from Telegram.

• Meta remains a dominant player – Meta’s platforms together will account for nearly half (44%) of fraud reported globally to Revolut in 2025. This is the fourth consecutive reporting period that Meta has held this position.

• TikTok’s Growing Risk – While the volume of fraud from TikTok remains lower than on older platforms, the rate of fraud originating from the app has increased sixfold year-over-year.

• Purchase fraud is most common, job fraud is growing rapidly – Despite the constant change in fraud methods, the rate of purchase fraud has remained relatively stable. However, in 2025, there was a significant increase in job scams worldwide: the number of cases increased approximately threefold and now accounts for 22% of all frauds.

Hungarian data

According to the data, in Hungary in 2025, 47% of reported frauds originated from Facebook. In particular, shopping frauds were the most common threat to local customers, accounting for 71% of all reported frauds.

The results are in line with recent research by Juniper Research, which highlighted the financial incentives of social media platforms to display such content. According to the study, social media companies generated an estimated €4.4 billion in revenue from fraudulent ads targeting European users in 2025. In the case of Hungary, this amount is estimated at €48 million, generated from fraudulent advertisements targeting Hungarian consumers.

In light of the above, Revolut is calling for stricter regulation that would oblige online platforms to participate in data sharing systems.

Woody Malouf, Head of Financial Crime at Revolut, said: “The rapid increase in fraud originating from Telegram shows how quickly criminals are adapting their methods. Revolut processes billions of data points to keep up, but the digital ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest link. Social media and messaging platforms need to play an active role. Protecting users must be a shared industry priority, including on the platforms where these frauds are born.”

Revolut takes fraud and the industry risk of customers being influenced by organised criminals extremely seriously. Nearly a third of the company’s employees are dedicated to preventing financial crime, while the company is constantly improving its security solutions. In the past 6 hours alone,