ZachXBT Reveals $300 Million in Annual Losses Due to Social Engineering Scams on Coinbase
Crypto investigator ZachXBT has shared a troubling report revealing that Coinbase users are losing approximately $300 million each year to social engineering scams, with $65 million of that amount stolen in just the last two months. The findings were posted on X by ZachXBT on Monday.
ZachXBT suggested the actual losses could be even higher, as many scam cases go unreported. While Coinbase has not commented directly on the report, it did link to a blog post offering advice on identifying and avoiding social engineering scams, which was published on its website on Monday.
Scammers are reportedly using stolen personal information to send fraudulent emails that appear to come from Coinbase. These emails, which may include fake case IDs, urge users to transfer funds to scammer-controlled wallets.
According to ZachXBT, these scammers are mimicking Coinbase’s site almost exactly and using fake prompts through spoofed emails. He also identified two primary groups behind these scams: hackers from the Com region and cybercriminals based in India, who primarily target U.S. customers.
Additionally, ZachXBT criticized Coinbase’s advice that users should stop using VPNs to avoid being flagged as suspicious, noting that scammers actually block VPN access on their phishing sites. He argued that Coinbase is missing the point by not addressing the root cause of the issue.
To combat these scams, ZachXBT recommended that Coinbase make phone number verification optional, create a more restricted account type for new users, and improve education for the community about recognizing and avoiding scams.
