Banned on Telegram? The Mysterious Ways of the Web

Recently, I have noticed that there is a fair bit of Steemit related activity taking place on Telegram.

I have had a Telegram account for many years, so I wanted to check out "Steemit stuff" but then I got the message "this phone number is banned on Telegram."

What the hell?

Why would a phone number I haven't even used in more than a year suddenly be banned?

Some poking around on various web forums suggested that there are actually sketchy people out there who harvest and use large numbers of other people's mobile numbers to create "throwaway" accounts to try to cheat at getting crypto airdrops from those Telegram mini games made famous by the likes of Hamster Kombat, Catizen and others.

It all just makes me feel rather sad about the world and how many people would rather cheat and swindle their way to what they have, as opposed to just putting in the time and effort like most of the rest of us!

Of course it doesn't help me being able to access my Telegram account, which kind of sucks, but I was never much into using the app, in the first place... so not a huge loss. I just hope it doesn't lead to some kind of identity theft.

I have had to deal with stolen credit card information before, when some website had a security breach and suddenly my card was being used to finance electronics in Thailand.

Not fun, and it takes time to put everything straight again.

Unrelated to the Telegram situation, it has been a very busy week and there's more to come. This is the time of the year when I sell my artwork at holiday arts and crafts shows, and I still have one more to go, this coming weekend. These events are pretty important because they help pay our bills at a time when our fuel bills are getting pretty significant, due to colder weather.

We do get a "low income discount" on our electricity for being over 55 and in a lower income bracket but it doesn't make much of a dent.

Life is often about setting priorities. I really want to spend more time posting on Steemit but I can't always justify the time, at this time of the year... there's just so much other stuff I must also pay attention to.

So, for the moment, I have to prioritize working on my artwork... writing whenever I get the chance.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Have you ever been banned from a community or website without even knowing why? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.12.09 02:07 PST
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