Bluesky Has an Extortion Problem

A cybersquatting scheme targeting prominent writers and entrepreneurs has exposed flaws in Bluesky's domain-based verification system, newsletter Tedium reports, citing users.

Bloomberg columnist Conor Sen reported receiving an extortion attempt this week when an anonymous user who had purchased his namesake domain demanded payment to transfer ownership. The episode has unraveled wider revelations of similar attacks targeting at least five other well-known users, including political blogger Matt Yglesias and The Hustle founder Sam Parr.

The platform's moderation team initially banned Parr's legitimate account while leaving the impersonator active, Sen told Tedium. The fake account was only removed after users escalated the issue to senior Bluesky staff.

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