FYI: Followers are (still) targeting companies with TechCrunch misinformation

Hello, and thanks as always for reading TechCrunch. We would like to have a quick discussion with you about something important.

More and more hackers are targeting TechCrunch journalists, editors, and event managers and reaching out to companies, pretending to be our employees when they are not. (Here is a list of all our real workers.) These bad guys are using our name and reputation to lure unsuspecting businesses. It drives us crazy and makes us angry on your behalf. Based on the number of emails we receive, asking, “Does this person work for you?” it seems to be happening very quickly at the moment.

Hypothetically, this doesn’t just happen to us; Fraudsters are using the trust that comes with well-known companies to get their foot in the door with companies in the media industry.

Here’s an example of a common strategy we’ve been tracking: Fraudsters are impersonating our journalists to extract business information from unsuspecting parties. In several cases that we know of, scammers impersonate real employees, creating what appears to be a social media survey of the company and soliciting phone calls.

Sharp-eyed recipients sometimes find inconsistencies with email addresses that do not match the requirements of our real employees (see the list of fake addresses below). But recently, they are hearing from fake journalists who claim to have great addresses to do similar to ours, making it tricky to identify a TechCrunch employee from someone who claims to be one.

Of course, plots change quickly; actors continue to refine their techniques, adapt to the media’s style, and demonstrate their originality to make their voices more convincing. Similarly, victims who consent to phone conversations tell us that criminals use these exchanges to solicit personal information. A PR rep he told Axios that someone posing as a TechCrunch reporter raised suspicions when he shared a link to the arrangement.

Why are these evil people doing this? We don’t know, although the reasonable assumption is that these are groups that want access to the network or other private information. In fact, former colleagues at Yahoo say that these efforts are related to a threat actor who has been following TechCrunch’s previous activities to facilitate account takeover (ATO) and data theft, targeting cryptocurrency, cloud, and other technology companies using various reasons.

What to do with it, if someone comes out claiming to be from TechCrunch and you have even the slightest doubt as to whether they are legitimate, please don’t take their word for it. We’ve made it easy for you to verify.

Get started by browsing our site TechCrunch staff website. It’s the fastest way to see if the person contacting you works here. If the person’s name is not on our list, your answer is right there.

If you see a person’s name on our staff page, but the employee’s job description doesn’t match what you’re asking for (for example, a TechCrunch copy editor is suddenly interested in your business!), a bad actor may be tricking you.

If it sounds like a valid request but you want to be double sure, you should also feel free to contact us directly and ask. You can learn how to reach every writer, editor, marketing director, marketing director, and event team member in our bios.

If you are not sure that a message is legitimate, our staff also have other ways to communicate listed on their official website. Try using one of the other methods to confirm.

We know it’s frustrating to have to double-check what you’ve asked on social media, but these groups hope you don’t. By being vigilant about verification, you’re not just protecting your company — you’re also helping to maintain the trust that certified journalists rely on to do their jobs.

Thank you. And for your reference, here’s a list of some of the things TechCrunch has seen created in the past few months. None of the following are affiliated with us:

email-techcrunch(.)com
hr-techcrunch(.)com
interview-techcrunch(.)com
mail-techcrunch(.)com
media-techcrunch(.)com
noreply-tc-techcrunch(.)com
noreply-techcrunch(.)com
pr-techcrunch(.)com
techcrunch-outreach(.)com
techcrunch-startups(.) info
techcrunch-team(.)com
techcrunch (.) no
techcrunch(.)biz(.)id
techcrunch(.)bz
techcrunch(.)cc
techcrunch(.)ch
techcrunch(.)com(.)pl
techcrunch(.)gl
techcrunch(.)gs
techcrunch(.)id
techcrunch (.) it
techcrunch(.)la
techcrunch(.)lt
techcrunch(.)net(.)cn
techcrunch1(.)com