The fifth in a series or network of inauthentic Forbes websites has been taken offline, its domain name now under the protection of Forbes’ authorized legal and site security teams.
ForbesLosAngeles.com, now defunct, is not now and never has been an authorized Forbes website.
The billion-dollar, globally-recognized media conglomerate’s name, logo and likeness were used without its permission by bad actors, all available information suggests.
In February, the website’s homepage displayed only a message that the site had experienced a fatal error.
But behind that message lay a wide world of fake Forbes magazine covers and high-praise “press coverage.”
Surgical Times reached out to Forbes’ legal counsel about the trademark-offending content.
It also reached out through multiple channels to the owners or operators of the Forbes Los Angeles website, whom it never heard from.
By April 10, the domain name no longer led to a fake Forbes website, but to an official notice stating the domain is now under the registration and protection of an authorized Forbes security entity.
That’s the same fate suffered by four other fake Forbes websites, following a Times investigation that began in December.
Aspiring entrepreneurs and others are sold on the virtues of a Forbes cover appearance, and wind up on a fake.
Surgical Times reached out to 20 such individuals and heard from several, all of whom stopped responding when asked about the fake covers.
The Times again invites those featured on this latest round of fakes to contact us, and in the interim is expressly not alleging fault by those featured.
Early signs that “Forbes Los Angeles” was fraudulent or illegitimate appeared hard to miss by those willing to look: Its homepage drew a blank, its early articles were fake, its magazine covers filled with typographical errors.
ForbesLosAngeles.com previously housed an estimated 50 or more inauthentic “Forbes magazine covers” and high-praise articles on alleged entrepreneurs, who may have paid for the coverage.
Growing list of Fake Forbes sites taken down
The demise of ForbesLosAngeles.com marks the latest in a series of similarly inauthentic websites now removed and reclaimed by authorized Forbes legal and security agents:
- Forbes New York (ForbesNewYork.com) — Fake/Fraudulent. Offline following Times inquiries.
- Forbes Las Vegas (ForbesLasVegas.com) — Fake/Fraudulent. Offline following Times inquiries.
- Forbes England (ForbesEngland.com) — Fake/Fraudulent. Offline following Times inquiries.
- Forbes Los Angeles (ForbesLosAngeles.com) — Fake/Fraudulent. Offline following Times inquiries.
- ForbesBrunei.com — Offline.
- Forbes Hollywood (ForbesHollywood.com) — Live for now; shares similar inconsistencies and errors.
Fake “Forbes Los Angeles” Covers
Prior to being removed and reclaimed by Forbes-authorized legal and website security teams, the fake Forbes Los Angeles website hosted the following magazine covers, produced and published between September 2023 and January 2024.
Surgical Times is reporting on a fake Forbes website, and on that website’s production and publication of fake Forbes magazine covers. In doing so, it is expressly not alleging or implying that the individuals featured on Forbes Los Angeles covers are at fault. Persons who appear on these covers—whom the Times has previously reached out to—are again invited to contact the Times. Alternatively, they may also simply forward the original email or DMs on which they first received their fake Forbes magazine cover to tips@surgicaltimes.com.
