Today, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced charges against a Brooklyn man accused of running a long-running impersonation scheme targeting Coinbase customers across the U.S. According to the indictment, the defendant allegedly posed as a Coinbase representative, used social engineering tactics to convince victims their accounts were at risk, and then directed them to transfer funds to wallets controlled by the scammer, resulting in nearly $16 million in alleged thefts from about 100 victims, with more than $600,000 recovered so far.
This case underscores a simple truth: the most effective scams don’t break technology, they exploit trust. That’s why we invest heavily in prevention, detection, and rapid response, and why we work closely with law enforcement to identify bad actors, support victims, and pursue accountability.
As described by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the defendant allegedly contacted Coinbase users while pretending to be a Coinbase support representative. Victims were allegedly told their accounts were “hacked” or at imminent risk, and were instructed to move funds to a “safe” wallet. The defendant allegedly drained those wallets, moved funds across the blockchain to obscure the trail, and used much of the proceeds on online gambling.
This is a classic impersonation and social engineering pattern: criminals attempt to look legitimate, create urgency, and push victims into taking immediate action.
Coinbase worked closely with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and its Virtual Currency Unit to support the investigation and help protect impacted customers.
That support included steps such as:
Helping identify the perpetrator and potentially impacted customers and supporting victim outreach efforts.
Preserving and sharing relevant information in response to lawful requests to help investigators connect dots across accounts, communications patterns, and on-chain activity.
Assisting efforts to trace funds on-chain and support recovery actions where possible.
Working quickly with law enforcement as they built their case and pursued charges.
Impersonation scams succeed when criminals spoof emails, mimic branding, and apply psychological pressure, not because they’ve hacked a platform. In this case, the DA indicates there is no evidence that customer information was obtained through a Coinbase security breach.
It also reinforces what we repeatedly tell customers: the “attack surface” is often the communication channel, email, SMS, robocalls, and social apps, not the exchange itself.
The most reliable defense is knowing what Coinbase will never ask you to do.
Coinbase will never ask you to transfer crypto to a “safe wallet.” If someone tells you to move funds to protect them, it’s a scam.
Don’t trust caller ID, sender names, or lookalike domains. Scammers spoof phone numbers and emails to appear legitimate.
Only contact Coinbase via official in-app support channels. Don’t rely on inbound calls/texts/emails for “support.”
Never share your 2FA codes, seed phrases, or password reset links. Coinbase will not ask for them, ever.
Slow down. Scammers manufacture urgency. Take a beat, verify independently, and don’t act under pressure.
Use stronger authentication. Enable strong 2FA (and consider passkeys/security keys where available) and turn on additional account protections.
Scammers target people everywhere, inside and outside crypto. But crypto also comes with a powerful advantage: transactions are traceable, which can help investigators follow money and support accountability when platforms and law enforcement collaborate effectively.
We’re grateful to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for its leadership in this case, and we will continue investing in customer protection, scam prevention education, and partnerships that help stop criminals and support victims.
If you believe you’ve been targeted by a scammer impersonating Coinbase, report it through our official channels and file a report with law enforcement.
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