Kroger, like Walmart, hit by fake crypto press release
Grocer is investigating the source of the fabricated announcement claiming Kroger would accept Bitcoin Cash
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The Kroger Co. said Friday that a press release claiming the nationwide grocer would begin accepting Bitcoin Cash was fabricated and untrue, becoming the second giant retailer in a matter of weeks to fall victim to an erroneous announcement that they would take a cryptocurrency as payment.
Nationwide grocery chain Kroger was hit with a false press release claiming the company would soon begin accepting Bitcoin Cash (istock / iStock)
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KR | THE KROGER CO. | 58.80 | +1.20 | +2.07% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 88.41 | +1.22 | +1.40% |
"This morning a press release was fraudulently issued claiming to be The #Kroger Co. that falsely stated the organization will begin to accept Bitcoin Cash," the company tweeted. "This communication was fraudulent and is unfounded and should be disregarded."
The fake press release, titled "Kroger to accept Bitcoin Cash," was published on Kroger's investor relations portion of their website through a direct feed from PR Newswire, where it was originally posted, the grocery chain told Reuters.
The Kroger Company website is displayed on a laptop in the background with a hand holding a bank card. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images)
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PR Newswire, for its part, said it was "urgently investigating the incident including looking into any criminal activity associated with this matter."
Bitcoin Cash is an offshoot of Bitcoin that was developed in 2017 using the same underlying code, but is aimed at being easier and cheaper to trade.
Exterior view of a Walmart store (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images) (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress / Getty Images)
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Last month, Walmart had to set the record straight after someone circulated a fake press release claiming the company would allow cryptocurrency Litecoin as a new payment option.
The fake release that targeted Walmart in September was published by GlobeNewswire under the title, "Walmart Announces Major Partnership With Litecoin (LTC)." Upon discovering it was a hoax, GlobeNewswire sent out a notice telling readers to disregard the bulletin.