This morning, Atlantic Media General Counsel Aretae Wyler shared the following memo with The Atlantic staff on a scam in which individuals posing as editors and senior leadership have been sending fraudulent job offers to unwitting freelancers and individuals seeking employment.

Anyone targeted by this scam may email Atlantic Media, which will advise victims of the scam and refer them to law enforcement: FraudAlert@AtlanticMedia.com .

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Dear Colleagues,

Across the last few months, individuals posing as our editors and senior leaders have sent fraudulent job offers to unwitting freelancers or jobseekers looking to work with The Atlantic. The impostors have created numerous misleading email accounts, including gmail addresses in the names of editors, gmail addresses that include the Atlantic’s name (e.g., recruitment.atlanticmagazine@g mail.com), and addresses employing fake domains (e.g., @atlanticmediagroup.net). The aim of the scam is to obtain personal information such as social security numbers, addresses, and bank account information from the intended victims.

The perpetrators have gone so far as to conduct job interviews by phone and gchat; to require signature on employment agreements, direct deposit, and tax forms; and to mail fake checks to individuals (in the hope that these “advances” would be cashed, thereby providing the perpetrators with bank account information and/or credit card information). To date, we’ve been contacted by more than 50 would-be victims, and the names of at least six of our top editorial leaders have been used.