Chinese newspaper warns firms over Bitcoin extortion scam

cryptonews07-30 16:12

China Business Journal warned on July 30 that fraudsters had impersonated the publication while demanding Bitcoin from companies threatened with negative news coverage. Summary China Business ...

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}\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nChinese newspaper warns firms over Bitcoin extortion scam\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-07-30 16:12 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://crypto.news/chinese-newspaper-warns-firms-over-bitcoin-extortion-scam/><strong>cryptonews</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>China Business Journal warned on July 30 that fraudsters had impersonated the publication while demanding Bitcoin from companies threatened with negative news coverage.\n\n\nSummary\n\n\n\nChina Business ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://crypto.news/chinese-newspaper-warns-firms-over-bitcoin-extortion-scam/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"EZBC","symbol_name":"比特币ETF-Franklin","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://crypto.news/chinese-newspaper-warns-firms-over-bitcoin-extortion-scam/","article_id":"2655505821","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":{"source":"crypto_news_highlight","url":"https://crypto.news/chinese-newspaper-warns-firms-over-bitcoin-extortion-scam/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2655505821","pubTimestamp":1785399125,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"crypto_news_highlight","name":"Crypto News"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"China Business Journal warned on July 30 that fraudsters had impersonated the publication while demanding Bitcoin from companies threatened with negative news coverage.China Business Journal says scammers demanded Bitcoin while impersonating reporters and threatening targeted companies online.The newspaper says the Proton Mail messages were unauthorized and appeared to constitute fraudulent activity.No Bitcoin address, payment amount or confirmed victim loss was publicly disclosed in Thursday’s statement.According to the newspaper’s statement, the scammers contacted businesses through an address hosted by Proton Mail. They claimed that undercover investigations had uncovered damaging information about the targeted companies.The senders allegedly threatened to publish the purported findings unless the companies transferred Bitcoin. The publication said it had not authorized the messages and considered the operation a suspected fraud scheme.China Business Journal said the perpetrators pr","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"crypto.news","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"EZBC":"比特币ETF-Franklin","BITI":"1倍做空比特币期货ETF-Proshares","FBTC":"比特币ETF-Fidelity","BFAP":"FT Vest Bitcoin Strategy Floor15 ETF - April","CBOO":"Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF - October","BTCW":"比特币ETF-Wisdom Tree","CBTO":"Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - October","BTRN":"比特币期货ETF-Global X","BITO":"比特币期货ETF-ProShares","BCCC":"Global X Bitcoin Covered Call ETF","ARKB":"比特币ETF-21Shares","QBF":"Innovator Uncapped Bitcoin 20 Floor ETF - Quarterly","BTCZ":"T-Rex 2X Inverse Bitcoin Daily Target ETF","CBTY":"Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - July","IBIT":"比特币ETF-iShares","BAGY":"Amplify Bitcoin Max Income Covered Call ETF","HODL":"比特币ETF-VanEck","CBXA":"Calamos Bitcoin 90 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF – April","BTC":"Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust","XBTY":"GraniteShares YieldBOOST Bitcoin ETF","CBOY":"Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF - July","CBXJ":"Calamos Bitcoin 90 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - January","BITU":"2倍做多比特币期货ETF-Proshares","BTCC":"Grayscale Bitcoin Covered Call ETF","BPI":"Grayscale Bitcoin Premium Income ETF","BTCI":"NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF","BETE":"等权重比特币&以太币期货ETF-ProShares","BTF":"比特币&以太币期货ETF-CoinShares","CBXO":"Calamos Bitcoin 90 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - October","BITX":"2倍比特币期货ETF-Volatility Shares","DEFI":"比特币期货ETF-Hashdex","BRRR":"比特币ETF-CoinShares","DFII":"FT Cboe Vest Bitcoin Strategy & Target Income ETF","BFJL":"FT Vest Bitcoin Strategy Floor15 ETF - July","BETH":"比特币&以太币期货ETF-ProShares","CBXY":"Calamos Bitcoin 90 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - July","CBOA":"Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF - April","BITY":"Amplify Bitcoin 2% Monthly Option Income ETF","BTCL":"T-REX 2X LONG BITCOIN DAILY TARGET ETF","SBIT":"2倍做空比特币期货ETF-Proshares","BTFX":"比特币期货ETF-CoinShares","MAXI":"比特币期货ETF-Simplify","CBOJ":"Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF - January","BTCO":"比特币ETF-Invesco Galaxy","GBTC":"比特币ETF-Grayscale","CBTA":"Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF – April","MNRS":"GRAYSCALE BITCOIN MINERS ETF","BITB":"比特币ETF-Bitwise","CBTJ":"Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF - January","YBTC":"比特币看涨期权ETF-Roundhill"},"translate_title":"中国报纸警告企业比特币勒索骗局","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"IBIT":0.6,"MNRS":0.6,"BTCL":0.6,"BTRN":0.6,"BITO":0.6,"MAXI":0.6,"BITU":0.6,"BCCC":0.6,"BTC":1.93,"HODL":0.6,"BFAP":0.6,"BETE":0.6,"BTCZ":0.6,"CBOJ":0.6,"CBXA":0.6,"SBIT":0.6,"QBF":0.6,"BITI":0.6,"BAGY":0.6,"BTCO":0.6,"BTF":0.6,"XBTY":0.6,"CBOY":0.6,"BTFX":0.6,"FBTC":0.6,"YBTC":0.6,"BITX":0.6,"CBOA":0.6,"GBTC":0.6,"BPI":0.6,"CBTA":0.6,"BTCI":0.6,"BITY":0.6,"BFJL":0.6,"BTCW":0.6,"ARKB":0.6,"BETH":0.6,"CBXO":0.6,"CBOO":0.6,"CBXY":0.6,"EZBC":0.6,"CBXJ":0.6,"CBTY":0.6,"DEFI":0.6,"BRRR":0.6,"CBTO":0.6,"BTCC":0.6,"BITB":0.6,"CBTJ":0.6,"DFII":0.6},"content_text":"China Business Journal warned on July 30 that fraudsters had impersonated the publication while demanding Bitcoin from companies threatened with negative news coverage.\n\n\nSummary\n\n\n\nChina Business Journal says scammers demanded Bitcoin while impersonating reporters and threatening targeted companies online.\nThe newspaper says the Proton Mail messages were unauthorized and appeared to constitute fraudulent activity.\nNo Bitcoin address, payment amount or confirmed victim loss was publicly disclosed in Thursday’s statement.\n\n\n\nAccording to the newspaper’s statement, the scammers contacted businesses through an address hosted by Proton Mail. They claimed that undercover investigations had uncovered damaging information about the targeted companies.\nThe senders allegedly threatened to publish the purported findings unless the companies transferred Bitcoin. The publication said it had not authorized the messages and considered the operation a suspected fraud scheme.\nScammers allegedly used negative coverage as leverage\nThe emails appeared to combine two established fraud methods: impersonating a recognized organization and threatening reputational damage to force payment.\nChina Business Journal said the perpetrators presented themselves as representatives of the newspaper. They then offered to suppress the alleged investigation in exchange for Bitcoin. The publication did not reproduce the full emails or identify the businesses contacted.\nThe allegation remains based on the newspaper’s account. No suspect has been named, and no law enforcement agency had publicly announced an arrest or criminal filing connected to the emails as of July 30.\nChinese authorities have previously prosecuted people who impersonated journalists or used negative coverage to demand money. In a 2025 case published by China’s news regulator, three people were convicted after using purported environmental reporting to extort 16 companies. \nChina Business Journal says the emails were unauthorized\nThe newspaper said the messages did not come from its authorized reporting or business operations. It is collecting evidence and reserved the right to pursue civil and criminal action against those responsible.\nThe warning is intended to help companies distinguish genuine reporting inquiries from payment demands. A legitimate request for comment may contain difficult questions, but demands for cryptocurrency in exchange for suppressing publication are a clear warning sign.\nChina Business Journal was established in 1985. It operates under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and is organized by the academy’s Institute of Industrial Economics.\nThe scammers’ use of the publication’s identity could therefore make the emails appear credible to executives unfamiliar with its official contact procedures.\nThe newspaper did not disclose a Bitcoin wallet address, requested amount, transaction hash or payment deadline. It also did not say whether any targeted company transferred funds.\nWithout a wallet address, independent researchers cannot examine the blockchain for payments linked to the alleged scheme. The available information confirms the warning, but not whether the fraudsters successfully collected Bitcoin.\nThe use of Proton Mail does not establish who sent the emails. Proton allows users to report suspected phishing and abusive messages to its security team. Its guidance asks recipients to preserve and submit the original message when reporting suspicious activity.\nThe newspaper also did not announce whether it had contacted Proton or Chinese police. Any account suspension, identification request or criminal investigation would require further action by the relevant service provider and authorities.\nCompanies face a familiar impersonation tactic\nChina’s internet regulator has previously warned that criminals sometimes pose as legitimate news organizations, threaten to publish negative material and demand payment from companies or individuals. \nThe latest case adds Bitcoin to that model. Cryptocurrency allows a recipient to request direct payment without using a conventional company bank account. However, the demand itself does not prove that the scammers received funds or successfully concealed their identities.\nU.S. prosecutors charged a teenager over an alleged $8 million crypto ransom scheme tied to corporate intrusions and impersonation tactics.\nAdditionally, Coinbase refused a $20 million ransom demand after attackers claimed they possessed stolen customer information.\nChina Business Journal said it would continue gathering evidence. The next verified update could come from the newspaper, Proton, police authorities or a company that received one of the emails.\n\n\n\n\n\n                Read more:\n            \n\n                SEC ready to act if Congress stalls on CLARITY Act","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":false,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"isVideo":false,"video":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"need_login_tip":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"isLaohu8Offline":false,"tenantId":"TBGLOBAL","deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.46.0","shortVersion":"4.46.0","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2655505821","isCrawlerRequest":true}