Am I overreacting or are all the contents of my phone already being stolen?

I clicked on a suspicious Telegram link a bot sent me, and my phone started downloading something. Am I screwed? I deleted and blocked the bot right away, but what’s the worst-case scenario here? Could they be in my phone already stealing my accounts? I couldn’t stop the download because it finished so fast. I can’t find anything suspicious in the file app…

Edit: I found the download. It’s a PNG file of the ‘picture’ that the AI sent. Could anything else have been hidden in there?

Upload the file to VirusTotal, maybe? It’ll scan for anything malicious.

Already deleted it :grimacing:. What if the virus wasn’t in the picture but something hidden next to it that activated when I clicked?

Get Bitdefender (free version) and run a full scan. It should help catch anything sneaky.

Did that! It says my phone’s clean, but I used a few free antivirus apps… not sure how reliable they are?

Free versions are good for basic stuff, but if you want peace of mind, maybe try a paid scan or use another trusted tool.

I don’t see how downloading a PNG could infect your phone. You’re probably safe.

There have been rare bugs where specially crafted images could trigger malware, like the Stagefright bug from years ago. But those are usually targeted at high-value individuals.

There was a Telegram vulnerability a while back with videos, but I don’t think it’s for images. Probably nothing to worry about, but keep an eye out for anything odd.

Yeah, I remember that! Here’s a link to the article: Telegram flaw news.

Could there be anything else hidden in the picture? Technically, yes. But it’s pretty unlikely. Most mobile malware isn’t spread through images.