Be careful, they are appearing everywhere! Now they are in Telegram too

A new type of crime has been added to those committed in the virtual environment. It has been observed that drug and weapon dealers, who form groups with thousands of participants on the messaging application Telegram, give names to drugs such as 'Metin Amca Online, Yeşilçay Online, Pisi, Çiko' to avoid attracting the attention of the police.

The messaging application Telegram, created by a Russian programmer, has recently been used by malicious individuals for drug and weapon trafficking. In groups with thousands of followers, drug and weapon dealers conceal their identities and use the platform as an e-commerce site to market the drugs and weapons they offer for sale. Interest in publicly available Telegram groups, most of which can be joined without any request, is growing day by day. It has been seen that drugs are given names such as 'Metin Amca Online, Yeşilçay Online, Pisi, Çiko' to avoid police tracking. Considering that the use of phones has spread to younger ages, it is thought that this poses a danger to children.

Mustafa Sansar, an expert in forensic informatics and cyber security, stated that technology is also used by malicious individuals: “There are various groups within the chat program called Telegram. Those who manage these groups lure people into their traps through social media, which is especially risky because young children have access to these groups. One of these risks is drugs and weapons. Anyone can easily buy a weapon here, or unfortunately, easily access drugs. Transactions are taking place."

They use encrypted messages

Sansar also spoke about the coded names used for drugs in Telegram groups, emphasizing that these codes might be used to evade police surveillance. Sansar said, “These names are not only intended to give fun names to drugs but also to develop codes so that if caught, they can say, 'No, I am not selling drugs, I am talking about someone else.' They generally use names like 'Yeşil çay geldi' (green tea has arrived) or 'Metin amca geldi' (Uncle Metin has arrived). But it should be known that the Turkish Police Forces are on top of these individuals and are conducting many operations as reported in the press."

Sansar also issued warnings to parents: “One of the most important aspects here is to monitor and control our children. This is the duty of parents. Therefore, it is necessary to check how children use the phones, tablets, and computers given to them, analyze their usage, and occasionally monitor them. During these checks, it is crucial to see where they are going on their phones and with whom they are communicating.”