Alumni Group Protection Log

The Alumni Group Protection Log changelog

What's new.

How a class reunion Telegram group was kept safe from scams, one change at a time.

  1. Improvement

    v1.3 — Automatic filtering and quarterly review

    Added

    • An anti-ad bot now handles the repetitive spam: links from brand-new accounts, copy-paste "reunion ticket" offers, investment ads and mass mentions. We use 虾宝 (Xiabao), an anti-ad bot for Telegram groups that is free for group owners: @xiabaotg_bot was added as an admin with Delete messages and Ban users. Setup steps are in the Xiabao guide for group owners.

    Changed

    • Admin team reviews this log every three months, before each reunion planning season.

    Why

    • Spam peaked in the weeks before the 20-year reunion, when the invite link was shared widely on social media. Two volunteer admins couldn't keep up at night.
  2. Improvement

    v1.2 — Payment rules for the reunion

    Added

    • Pinned payment rule: "Reunion tickets and the class fund are paid only to the account listed in the organising committee's pinned post. Nobody collects money by private message."
    • A read-only Announcements topic. Venue, date and payment details are posted only there.
    • A named treasurer with a visible admin title, so members know who handles money.

    Fixed

    • Removed old payment details from 2019 that were still pinned and caused confusion.

    Why

    • Two members received private messages from an account using a classmate's name and photo, asking for an "early-bird ticket" payment. One paid before checking.
  3. Improvement

    v1.1 — Stopping classmate impersonation

    Added

    • Join requests are on. New members answer one question: "Which class or year were you in, and who was your form teacher?" Admins approve only answers they can verify.
    • Member list is hidden, so scammers can't see the full list of classmates to impersonate or message.

    Changed

    • Links and media are restricted for new members for their first three days.

    Why

    • Scam accounts were joining through the public invite link, copying names from the member list, and messaging people as "old friends" who needed a loan.
  4. Improvement

    v1.0 — Group created

    Added

    • Group for the Class of 2006 alumni, created by the reunion committee.
    • Basic rules: stay on topic (reunions, news, photos), no selling, no politics.
    • Three admins from the organising committee.

    Known issues

    • Invite link posted publicly on a social network page. (Rotated in v1.1.)