China Business Journal issued a warning on July 30 about a Bitcoin extortion scam targeting businesses. Fraudsters have been impersonating the newspaper, sending emails from Proton Mail addresses to companies with threats of publishing damaging reports unless paid in Bitcoin.
According to the journal, these unauthorized messages claim that undercover investigations have exposed harmful information about the companies. The scammers pressure the victims by threatening negative media coverage, demanding cryptocurrency as hush money. The newspaper confirmed it did not send these messages and labeled the operation as fraudulent, though no victims or payment amounts have been publicly disclosed.
Scam Combines Fake Reporting and Extortion Tactics
The scam merges two common fraud techniques: posing as a trusted media outlet and leveraging fear of reputation damage to force payments. The perpetrators represent themselves as China Business Journal reporters offering to withhold alleged findings in return for Bitcoin transfers. While no suspects have been named and law enforcement has yet to announce actions, Chinese authorities have previously prosecuted similar extortion cases, such as one in 2025 where offenders exploited fake environmental reports to extort 16 companies.
The newspaper is gathering evidence to take legal steps and cautions businesses to differentiate between legitimate journalist inquiries and coercive demands. Genuine press questions may be probing, but direct requests for payments in cryptocurrency are a red flag.
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
