Fake social media accounts: The rise of Cointelegraph impersonators, explained

Fake “Cointelegraph” accounts are scamming crypto users. Learn how to spot impostors, verify identities and stay protected in 2025.

If you’re a tier-1 crypto media sales representative in 2025, chances are you have an impersonator.

These are often fake Telegram, X or LinkedIn accounts offering “Tier-1 PR” to unsuspecting businesses, only to share a personal USDT wallet address when it’s time to pay. Cointelegraph has seen plenty of such cases.

In October 2025 alone, a Telegram profile styled as “Tobias Vilkenson | Cointelegraph”messaged BNB Chain to “set up a time to chat and feature BNB Chain in a Cointelegraph article,” linking to an X account under the same name with more than 6,000 followers. It’s a textbook impostor play: borrowing a newsroom’s credibility, promising coverage and moving targets into private direct messages (DMs) where the scam continues.

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