Key Points:
- Coinbase users lost over $65 million to scams between December 2024 and January 2025, with scammers using phishing calls, emails, and fake websites.
- The exchange faced criticism for slow responses, failing to mark fraudulent addresses on time, and not taking legal action against the fraudsters.
Coinbase users have reported losing over $65 million from December 2024 to January 2025 due to sophisticated scams, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT.
Read more: Coinbase Wins UK Crypto Regulation Green Light for Services
Coinbase Users Lose Over $65 Million to Scammers in Two Months
Scammers have been targeting Coinbase users through various methods, including fake phone calls, emails, and phishing websites, tricking victims into transferring funds to fraudulent “safe wallets.”
The scam typically begins with a phone call from a spoofed number, where the scammer claims that the victim’s account had unauthorized login attempts.
The scammer then sends a fake email, designed to look like it’s from Coinbase, with a fabricated case ID to further gain trust. Victims are urged to transfer funds to a Coinbase Wallet and whitelist an address while “support” verifies their account security.
In addition to these methods, scammers have been using cloned Coinbase websites, nearly identical to the original platform, to deceive users. These cloned sites enable scammers to send fake prompts through emails using panels, making it difficult for victims to detect the fraud. Several Telegram channels have also been found advertising these scams.
Previous High-Profile Coinbase Scams Highlight Security Gaps
Coinbase has faced criticism for not responding quickly enough to these incidents. The exchange failed to identify fraudulent addresses in a timely manner, and customer support responses were notably slow. Furthermore, no legal actions have been taken to combat these ongoing fraud schemes.
This follows a series of high-profile losses, including the theft of 110 cbBTC, valued at $11.5 million, from a Coinbase user on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Base.
In December 2024, a Coinbase Commerce vendor lost $15.9 million without intervention from the exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) system. Earlier, in October 2024, a phishing attack resulted in a loss of $6.5 million, as an imposter posing as Coinbase support targeted a user.
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