Food & Beverage

Is your brand getting cheated via this messaging app?

Photo: iStock.

May 4, 2021

Technological threats and scams are a sad fact of life in the restaurant realm, but there's one taking place now via the Telegram app that's causing particular issues for limited-service brands lately.

Telegram is a cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging app, which the tech security professionals at Sift said criminals are using to carry out a form of fraud that often hits restaurants' bottom line. To be clear, Telegram is not at fault for anything regarding this subject, but criminals are using the app to perform a scam that targets restaurants that deliver.

It makes sense then that savvy operators will take the time to listen to an important webinar about this criminal undertaking and how to avoid getting trapped in it.

The free on-demand version of that session, "How to Keep Fraudsters from Bilking your QSR via the Telegram App" shows operators how this relatively complicated scam is perpetrated, as well as what type of dollar-loss it can cause for limited-service brands. But the most critical information in this webinar is all around how to prevent your fast casual from becoming a victim to the scam.

In the 50-minute presentation, Sift Trust and Safety Architect Brittany Allen walks participants through the inner workings of the scam. From learning the difference between the dark web and deep web, to getting an up-close view of how criminals use stolen credit card information to bilk restaurant brands out of actually ever getting paid for often-voluminous orders, restaurant leaders can get a feel for how exposed they might be, what it could cost them, and most of all, what to do to prevent it.

It's all relayed in informative, relatable terms that give participants an easy-to-understand look at how their brands might be exposed and how to prevent it.

Watch the free presentation here.