Michaela
Crypto exchange Coinbase has reportedly terminated several Indian customer support agents following allegations that they were involved in a social engineering scheme that gave bad actors unauthorized access to customer accounts.
According to Fortune, Coinbase Chief Security Officer Philip Martin revealed that the company identified and flagged certain third-party customer support contractors suspected of granting scammers unauthorized access to user data.
“Criminals targeted our customer support agents overseas. They used cash offers to convince a small group of insiders to copy data in our customer support tools for less than 1% of Coinbase monthly transacting users,” the crypto exchange shared in a blog post.
Coinbase revealed that the attackers’ primary objective was to compile a list of customers they could impersonate the company to deceive—ultimately persuading victims to surrender their crypto assets. After executing the scheme, the perpetrators allegedly attempted to extort $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for keeping the breach quiet. The company refused to comply.
Martin’s disclosure came in the wake of reports detailing a wave of phishing attempts targeting the crypto exchange’s users. The company estimates that the fallout from the incident could lead to remediation and reimbursement costs ranging from $180 million to $400 million.
Responding to Coinbase’s post on X regarding the breach, Alliance DAO core contributor Qiao Wang revealed that he may have personally fallen victim to the social engineering scheme. “Got a number of calls from scammers pretending to be coinbase,” Wang wrote.
Wang detailed the steps used by the scammers, explaining that one contacted him claiming his Coinbase account had been breached. The caller then urged him to confirm personal details—information the attackers likely obtained through compromised support agents—and instructed him to transfer his funds to what was presented as a “Coinbase self-custodial wallet.”
“I called them out at the end of the call telling them they need to step up their game […],” Wang wrote. “They told me that had made $7m that day.”
Furthermore, Coinbase announced plans to reimburse users who were deceived into transferring funds to attackers as a result of social engineering schemes. The exchange has also implemented enhanced security measures on flagged accounts, including stricter identity verification for large withdrawals and mandatory scam-awareness prompts to help prevent future incidents.
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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
