Consumer complaint received 2021-11-27
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
The following information is supported by the .zip file of the XXXX chat along with screenshots. I was the victim of a cryptocurrency scam that happened on XX/XX/XXXX, several days before XXXX XXXX. The scam began on XX/XX/XXXX, when I matched on the XXXX XXXX XXXX. In the early conversations, I felt pressured to talk on XXXX instead of the XXXX site. We began talking on XXXX for a week and I shared that I was going to be out that weekend for a wedding. We talked about meeting up after the wedding. During that time, my match began sharing some photos like selfie photos and cryptocurrency " deals. '' I was curious but not too interested. The match said that she'll teach me about cryptocurrency. We tried using crypt.com to purchase cryptocurrencies but luckily XXXX does not allow cryptocurrency purchases with debit cards. Instead, we went onto the coinbase app to do a wire transfer from XXXX bank to XXXXoinbase which uses the XXXX XXXX Bank. The following is the information to which the wire transfer was sent on XX/XX/XXXX : Account number from which the wire transfer was sent : XXXX Name on the account : Coinbase Inc Date : XX/XX/XXXX Wire Amount : {$5000.00} TRN : XXXX The match and I did some XXXX foreign exchange using a fake company XXXX hosted on an open-source web server on the evening of XX/XX/XXXX. Next, the match showed me how to cash out and asked me to put in more money by suggesting ideas such as pulling loans or whatnot. I was firm with my stance that $ 5k is what I am comfortable with. After this conversation, we wished goodnight and the match went offline. This was when I realized that I was scammed out of $ 5k. I looked at the XXXX website again and realized that the website was fake. 

At XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, I immediately froze all my credit scores and sent a secure message to XXXX XXXX recalling the wire transfer because I was scammed and the wire transfer was pending. XXXX tried to recall the money from XXXX XXXX Bank. The wire transaction/reference number : XXXX The following reply from XXXX is as follows XXXX XXXX was opened on XX/XX/XXXX. 
We received ad fed service message from XXXX XXXX Bank stating " DEBIT AUTHORITY DENIED BY CREDITING PARTY AS FUNDS CAN NOT BE RECOVERED FOR RETURN. ACCOUNT BLOCKED FOR FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY. THIS CASE IS NOW CLOSED. '' As your other option, please consult law enforcement and try to settle the matter directly with the beneficiary. 

What I don't understand is why I was denied because obviously, I was a victim of a scam/fraud. I have the XXXX chat saved which I forwarded to XXXX, contacted Hinge about this account, reported to the FTC, and sent a scam complaint to the FBI. I want to use CFPB to start a complaint about XXXX XXXX Bank and get clarity if the $ 5k wire transfer can be recovered. I will also send an email to Coinbase Inc as well to see if a resolution can be arrived. This scam was a week-long process that happened on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation