Telegram is one of the best places to look for people and information in open-source investigations

Telegram is a popular messenger with a low level of moderation which makes it a great source of information for investigators. The messenger has more than 1 billion downloads and 550 million people use it monthly. Bad actors and hate groups use the service at an increasing speed. Telegram has a thriving marketplace for drugs, fake documents, illegal goods, or money mules.

The service has groups with up to 200,000 members and they can be private or public. Channels have an unlimited number of subscribers and are often used for broadcasting. Users can also see people nearby with their names, photos, and distances as well as local groups.

Public channels and groups are searchable through Telegram search itself, Google, or OSINT tools available online. Channels also have a search in them via keywords or hashtags. Although the majority of users have a mobile version, Telegram has a desktop option which is much more convenient for online investigations.

Google Search

• Use a command site:t.me “search term” or site:telegram.me “search term” in the Google search bar. It brings results with the keyword in posts, hashtags, or links. Investigators can use all types of information as search terms, including names, emails, phones, social links, etc.

• Use a command "t.me/joinchat" "search term". It helps to find links to Telegram chats on other websites and social media with a keyword related to a specific topic.

Online Tools, General Search

• Lyzem Search: the service finds information in channels, groups, bots, messages, and on Telegram’s blogging platform Telegraph

• Custom Google Search Tools (Telegago, Commentgram, Osint Me, here, here): the engines look for the keywords in contacts, public and private channels and groups, Telegraph, messages, and bots.

Channels and Groups Search

• Channels:

  • Tlgrm

  • Telemetrio

• Groups:

  • Tgram

  • Combot

  • Tg-Me

• Both Sources:

  • Telegram Search Engine

  • TelegramGroup

  • Telegram Channels

  • Telegram Directory

  • TelegramDB

  • TGStat

Bots for Investigations:

• @BotoDetective: the bot allows to search for users using a phone number, name, social networks, email, password, or a photo

• @TgScanRobot:the bot shows basic profile details and groups that a user is a member of

• @username_to_id_bot: the bot helps to find IDs of users, groups, or channels

• @userinfobot: this bot shows basic user’s info

• @creationdatebot: this one shows a creation date of any account in Telegram

Investigators need to create an account to view non-public channels and groups. It’s recommended to use new SIM cards, VPNs, and if possible, new phones with no contacts on them. Telegram has many privacy settings that are needed to be enabled for any research.

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