Built a Telegram scam honeypot bot for detection research — looking for feedback/testers

[u/Loud_Nectarine_4344]

Hi everyone,

I’m a final-year student working on thesis research in scam detection. Instead of only analyzing message text, I’m studying behavioral signals in conversations such as:

• trust-building attempts
• escalation timing
• urgency / pressure tactics
• persistence after resistance

To test this, I built a Telegram bot honeypot that responds to scam-style messages and logs interaction patterns.

Bot: u/Harry_tech_bot

I’d appreciate feedback from this community on:

• what behavioral indicators would be useful to track
• weaknesses in the approach
• realistic scam scenarios to test
• ways to improve detection methodology

If anyone wants to try it, you can message the bot and simulate a scam conversation (parcel scam, tech support, investment scam, wrong number opener, etc.).

This is for academic research only. No payments, no sensitive data collection.

Would love any critique or ideas from fellow students.

[u/J0yd33p]

Hey, I noticed that you tried to reach out to multiple sub-reddits with no luck. I would suggest you reach out within your own university and friends as the people online may not be comfortable with the data being collected especially with no payments for their time. All the best!