Scammers have found a creative new angle for crypto extortion: pretending to be Chinese state media. The China Business Journal, a publication with roots going back to 1985, issued a public warning on July 29 that fraudsters are impersonating its reporters to shake down companies for Bitcoin.

The scheme works like this. Targets receive emails, often from Proton Mail accounts rather than official domains, claiming the newspaper has conducted undercover investigations and uncovered damaging information about their business. Pay up in Bitcoin, the emails say, or the negative reports go public.

In a country where media operates under tight government oversight, a threatening letter from what appears to be a state-affiliated publication carries a particular kind of weight. That’s exactly what makes this scam so effective, and why the newspaper moved quickly to publicly dismantle it.

How the scam operates

The China Business Journal is published by the Institute of Industrial Economics within the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It’s an established institution with more than four decades of history, which makes impersonating it a strategically clever move by bad actors.

The newspaper was emphatic in its response. It does not operate through unofficial channels. All of its reporting adheres to official regulations and Chinese law. If someone claiming to be from the China Business Journal contacts you via Proton Mail asking for crypto, it’s not the China Business Journal.

The publication said it is currently collecting evidence related to the scheme and has reserved its right to pursue legal action against the perpetrators. For companies that have received these emails, the advice is straightforward: don’t pay, preserve every piece of evidence, and report the incident to local authorities.

No confirmed victims or specific payment amounts have been disclosed at this point. But the fact that a major state-affiliated outlet felt compelled to issue a formal public warning suggests the campaign has reached a scale worth worrying about.

A growing pattern of media impersonation scams

Scammers globally have been increasingly impersonating media organizations to extract cryptocurrency payments. The playbook is simple but effective: leverage the credibility of an established institution, manufacture a crisis, and demand payment in an asset that’s difficult to claw back.

Coverage of the incident has spread across crypto-focused outlets including Cointelegraph, confirming the seriousness of the operation. On-chain monitoring platforms have also taken note, though no specific wallet addresses or transaction data have been publicly linked to the scheme yet.