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China Business Journal has warned companies that fraudsters are impersonating its reporters and demanding Bitcoin in exchange for suppressing purported negative investigations.
The newspaper said on July 30 that the messages were unauthorized and appeared to be part of a fraud scheme. No Bitcoin address, payment amount or confirmed victim loss has been disclosed.
Proton Mail Messages Demanded Bitcoin From Companies
The fraudsters contacted businesses through an email address hosted by Proton Mail. They claimed undercover reporting had uncovered damaging information about the targeted companies.
The senders allegedly threatened to publish the material unless the businesses transferred Bitcoin. They presented themselves as representatives of China Business Journal and offered to stop publication after receiving payment.
China Business Journal Says the Emails Were Unauthorized
China Business Journal said the correspondence did not come from its authorized reporting or business operations. The newspaper said it is collecting evidence tied to the impersonation campaign.
The publication did not identify the companies targeted. It also did not reproduce the full emails or disclose whether any business paid the demand.
No Bitcoin Wallet or Confirmed Victim Loss Has Been Disclosed
No suspect has been named in connection with the scheme. No Chinese law enforcement agency has publicly announced an arrest or criminal case tied to the latest campaign.
Without a disclosed wallet address or transaction hash, the claimed Bitcoin payments cannot currently be traced independently on-chain. It also remains unknown whether the scammers successfully collected funds from any company.
Newspaper Reserves Right to Pursue Civil and Criminal Action
China Business Journal said it reserves the right to seek civil and criminal action against those responsible. The paper was founded in 1985.
It operates under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and is published by its Institute of Industrial Economics.
The warning gives affected companies a basis to report suspicious messages that misuse the outlet’s name.
China Has Prosecuted Similar Media Impersonation Schemes
Chinese authorities have previously pursued cases involving people posing as journalists and using threats of negative coverage to extract payments from businesses. In one case reported by China’s press regulator in March 2025, three people impersonated reporters and targeted 16 companies with environmental stories.
The case involved 198,200 yuan in alleged extortion. One defendant was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. China Business Journal is continuing to gather evidence from the latest campaign.
Any confirmed Bitcoin payments, police investigation or identification of the senders would provide the next verified development.
