Scammers Are Impersonating Decrypt—Please Don't Fall for It

In recent weeks, crypto and NFT project creators have fallen victim to phishing attacks designed to gain access to their social media accounts, which are then used to try and lure their community members into subsequent scams.

To make matters worse, scammers are fraudulently using the names of journalists and other employees from Decrypt and other publications. 

Pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT detailed examples of the attack in a tweet thread posted this morning. He said he’s confirmed the wallet address of one of the attackers and has shared identifying information with victims so that they can pursue legal action.

To be clear, Decrypt journalists would not and will never approach a project creator and ask them to sign something in exchange for coverage.

Our editorial coverage does not require consent or signatures, and if we are interested in covering a project, we will simply seek out an interview without a contract or signature needed. Any suggestions otherwise from a purported Decrypt representative should be a red flag.

A legitimate Decrypt journalist will never ask you to download a file or browser extension as part of the process of seeking information and asking questions. In reports of scams perpetrated using the Decrypt name, the attackers have engaged creators with the hopes of gaining access to their Discord server token.

Once they do so, they can take over a project’s Discord server, remove the legitimate administrators, and share links for fraudulent NFT or token mints. Such mints are typically “wallet drainer” attacks that can swipe a user’s tokens from a crypto wallet after they sign what they believe to be a legitimate transaction.

Again, Decrypt journalists will never ask you to sign a consent form or download files to confirm or finalize potential coverage.

As with anything in the crypto world, be vigilant. Be sure to confirm that any URLs sent are from the official Decrypt website (decrypt.co), that any Twitter messages come from our official account (@decryptmedia), and that any correspondence comes from our official Discord channel, which you can find here: https://discord.gg/FsRcZdfPeu.

Decrypt has reported the fraudulent Discord server masquerading as ours to Discord support. Discord has yet to respond to our requests. An email sent to [email protected] for comment on this story has also gone unanswered. We will also be reporting the fraudulent “decryptmedia.net” website that scammers are using to the domain’s host.

If you receive a message that appears suspicious from someone who claims to represent Decrypt, please do not hesitate to contact us though the official channels listed on our website.