Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has recently witnessed a substantial increase in fraudulent activities. Particularly, the spike in scams originating from social media platforms is raising alarms among the officials. Fraudulent activities centered around Coinbase on Twitter continue unabated.
Rising Complaints Against Coinbase
The most recent individual to fall prey to these scams is a Twitter user named Daniel Mason. In his statement on July 7th, Mason highlighted that the domain name of Coinbase.com was somehow being utilized by scammers. He started receiving messages and emails from these fraudsters who were using official phone numbers and emails under the Coinbase.com domain. The scammer obtained Mason’s sensitive information such as his social security number, driver’s license number, and address.
What distinguishes this scammer from others in similar cases is his proficiency in English and his persuasive demeanor. While Mason is the latest victim, he is certainly not the only one. Numerous users across social media platforms have fallen prey to scams that exploit the name of the exchange.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges Under Attack
Another victim, who chose to remain anonymous, was tricked after responding to an email that they believed was from the support team notifying them about their account being hacked. It was revealed that one of the Coinbase employees had confirmed the validity of this email before the information was passed on. The user’s account was subsequently hacked and no help was received from Coinbase. The incident was taken to court. The victim is reported to have lost around $50,000.
Jacob Canfield, another user, was also victimized by Coinbase. By responding to a notification about changing his 2FA settings, he lost everything.
After acknowledging these security threats, Coinbase emphasized their efforts to warn users against phishing attacks. Although it’s normal for large cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase to face such attacks, the exchange’s occasional missteps leading users directly into the hands of scammers are attracting criticism. Following these complaints, Coinbase is expected to take action.
