We are aware of multiple types of fraudulent emails that misuse The Atlantic's name or branding. Below are the scams we are currently tracking and guidance on how to identify and report them.
Fraudulent Emails Impersonating The Atlantic
Over the past few weeks, we have received numerous reports of fraudulent emails sent from theatlanticm@gmail.com and other similar @gmail.com accounts. These emails purport to come from The Atlantic’s staff and are being sent to authors of recently published books. The emails ask the recipient to respond to discuss potential coverage of their book. We believe these emails are the first step in a phishing scheme.
Any real communications regarding The Atlantic’s journalism and/or official business will always come from an account using the @theatlantic.com domain.
Unfortunately, scams like this one are very common in today’s landscape. We have taken steps to report the account in order to prevent further fraudulent activity.
If you receive this sort of scam email, you should not respond. We encourage recipients to report the email to Google using this form. We also encourage recipients to send any suspicious emails that reference The Atlantic or its journalists to fraudalert@theatlantic.com, so that we can continue to monitor and report these sorts of scams. (If you are not sure if an email purporting to come from The Atlantic is genuine, you can also forward it to this email address for verification.)
Emails Spoofing Atlantic Addresses
We’re aware that some readers are receiving unwanted messages that appear to come from “onestory@theatlantic.com” or other Atlantic-branded addresses. These emails are not from The Atlantic.
Our systems remain secure, and our email provider has confirmed that these messages were not sent by us, nor did we provide your email to these spammers. Rather, spammers are using a common technique called email spoofing — forging our address to make their mail look legitimate.
We’re working with our partners to mitigate the issue and report abuse to the relevant providers.
If you receive one of these messages do not engage with it other than to mark it as spam or junk to your email provider, or to delete it.
We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we continue working to stop these fraudulent emails.
Last Updated: June 17, 2026