Researcher Documents Elaborate Fake CoinDesk Podcast Scheme Targeting Web3 Founders

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A Web3 founder received a LinkedIn message in August 2026 inviting them to participate in a supposed CoinDesk podcast series called 'Why Crypto Became Personal', sent by an account posing as a Venture Scout at TheForms Ventures. The approach appeared professional and low-friction, with no immediate requests for wallet access, downloads, or investments, making it difficult to detect early on. Suspicion grew as the interaction progressed through scheduling, identity claims, and a promised AI translation setup, with no verifiable public link to the podcast series ever provided. During a Google Meet session on 25 August 2026, the conversation shifted to the researcher's operating system after a translation tool failed to work, suggesting the workflow may have been designed to deliver malware dependent on Windows or macOS. The researcher, whose Linux system disrupted the suspected funnel, preserved evidence and published a redacted incident report on GitHub to warn others in the Web3 community.

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