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They discovered that scammers were reaching out to businesses by impersonating TechCrunch reporters and event leads. These bad actors are trying to use our names and reputations to trick unsuspecting businesses. It will indulge us and piss us off on your behalf.
Anecdotesly, this isn’t happening on us alone. Scammers are misusing the trust that comes with established news brands to step into the door with businesses across the media industry.
Here are some examples of the most common schemes we have been tracking. Impersonate a reporter to extract from unquestionable goals to take responsibility for reporters. In some cases we know, scammers employ real staff identities, create what appears to be a standard media survey of a company’s products, and request referral calls.
A keen recipient may capture a discrepancy with email addresses that do not match the actual employee’s qualifications. However, these schemes evolve quickly. Bad actors continue to improve their tactics, mimic the writing style of reporters, and refer to startup trends, making the pitch more and more convincing. Equally annoying, victims who agree to phone interviews say that scammers are using those exchanges to dig into more unique details. (The PR official told Axios that someone pretended to be a reporter for TechCrunch raised doubts when they shared the scheduling link.)
Why are they doing this? A reasonable guess is that these are groups looking for initial access to networks and other sensitive information.
As for what to do about it, reach out and claim that someone came from TechCrunch and if you have a bit of doubt as to whether they are legal, don’t just listen to their words. We made it easy for you to check.
Start by checking the TechCrunch staff page. This is the easiest way to see if the person contacting you actually work here. If your personal name is not on our roster, you have your answer there.
If someone’s name will appear on the staff page, but the employee’s job description is not square in the requests you are receiving (i.e. TechCrunch’s copy editor is very interested in learning about your business all of a sudden!), then a bad actor may be trying to deny you.
It sounds like a legitimate request, but if you want to be double-checked, feel free to contact us directly. Learn how to reach each of the BIOS writers, editors, sales executives, marketing gurus and event team members.
I know it’s frustrating to have to double check media enquiries, but these groups hope you don’t take that extra step. Being vigilant about verification will not only protect your company. It helps maintain the trust that legitimate journalists are dependent on doing their jobs.
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