Local Telegram Group With Over 35,000 Members Is Spreading Women's Photos & Child Porn
SAYS was able to access the group and here's what we found out.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 01 Oct 2020, 06:16 PM — Updated about 4 years ago
A few netizens have recently brought attention to a Telegram group that is spreading women's photos without their consent
Considering the sensitivity of the situation, SAYS has decided to not reveal any of the victims' names and information in order to protect their identities.
Several victims have reached out to SAYS and we have been able to access the Telegram group. The following screenshots and details are material SAYS directly obtained from the group.
Dubbed 'V2K', the group is mainly used to share pornographic videos and photos from different sources.
This issue first came to light when one woman realised that her photos were being sent to the group, garnering unsolicited sexual remarks
In an interview with SAYS, she said that on 27 September, her friend uploaded several photos of their group attending an event on Facebook.
After that, an acquaintance - who is a member of the V2K group - told them that their photos were being shared on Telegram.
The women in the photos then started to receive friend requests on their social media accounts as well as sexual messages from strangers.
The women affected then raised the issue on social media.
Then, more women discovered that their photos had been shared in the group without their consent.
Another victim came forward and told SAYS that her photos were sent to the group.
She said, "I uploaded these photos on Instagram. Then I started receiving a ton of follower requests and messages from men saying they [ejaculated] to my photos. That's how I found out my photos had been shared to the group."
SAYS managed to join the Telegram group and found that besides sharing pornographic content, the members also screenshot women's photos from their social media accounts and expose personal information
While scrolling through the Telegram group, SAYS found that the members would send a woman's photo and ask other members if they have their information such as phone number, social media account, or even home address.
Today, 1 October, one of the victims received a phone call from an unknown number.
"He called me and straight said that he got my number from Telegram. He called to ask for sex service," she said.
Meanwhile, some women have discovered that their close friends and family members are also in the group.
"An uncle from my father's side is in the group," said one victim.
"Some of the members are my friends from university," another person noted.
Besides that, SAYS also found that group members could purchase a membership to gain access to more pornographic content which includes videos of underaged children
Users in the group even advise each other to use burner numbers, allowing them to remain anonymous and protect themselves
V2K has also set up a bot that can identify whether new members in the group are Telegram users that have changed their display name, thus exposing whether a new member is a woman or not.
If the group admin discovers that a member is a woman, they will be instantly removed from the group.
One of the victims has filed a report to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)
A representative from MCMC has confirmed with SAYS that they have received the report. However, when asked if further action will be taken, they refused to comment.
Meanwhile, another victim said, "We managed to infiltrate the V2K group by using a male friend's account. We wanted to collect evidence before filing a police report. However, while in the group, we saw that the members were aware that they were about to be exposed. One member then noted that he was a police officer and if we filed a report, he would track us down."
"Fearing for our safety, we have yet to file a police report. However, we have reached out to Woman's Aid Organisation (WAO) and they have promised to support us in making a report," she added.
Telegram has previously been criticised for its policies which enable people to distribute pornographic content anonymously
According to The Print, an Indian news outlet, the application allows users to not only use a username instead of their phone number to protect their identity but also forward messages anonymously.
Besides that, you can also unsend messages and delete entire chats from not just your own phone, but also the other person's.
In the past, there have also been other reports about Malaysians using the app to distribute child pornography.
These Malaysian organisations aim to help survivors of sexual assault:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-79563488
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
Website | Facebook | Twitter
2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9.30am - 4.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4390698
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6082-422660
SMS/WhatsApp: +6013-8044285
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 2pm)
Contact: +6088-280200
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (8.30am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6016-2273065 | +6016-7213065
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF’s Reporting Portal.
