Consumer complaint received 2021-11-17
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: KY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
My Coinbase account was hacked for XXXX BTC = over {$130000.00} in USD value on XX/XX/21 at XXXX XXXX. 

They have no humans available to help. Their customer service is nonresponsive and there is no way to call and review fraudulent transactions. All of their emails are automated and never get you anywhere. 

The days following the fraudulent transactions, the Coinbase server appeared to be down and frozen. There was a message that said We're having connection issues. We're looking into it right now. Please quit the app and try again. Your funds are safe. My Coinbase Pro account was locked and I was unable to access either of my accounts since I reported several help tickets telling them about the unauthorized fraudulent transactions. 

The entire time I thought that the lump sum of my XXXX were stored away safe in a separate " Coinbase Pro '' account. I had only received emails from the regular Coinbase account about the purchase of {$1000.00} worth of XXXX with my bank account attached which being held as a " security precaution '' for XXXX hours. I didn't receive any communications in regards to this much larger amount ( XXXX XXXX = over $ XXXX USD ) being moved or taken out of my otherwise inactive and dormant account. 


After going back and forth with the Coinbase automated emails to verify my identity I was back in my accounts where I then discovered that my Coinbase Pro account had a {$0.00} balance, which should have well over $ XXXX with XXXX Bitcoin. 


I reported this and was locked out of my account once again. Every time I try to report what happens they just lock my account. I've had the help tickets closed on me randomly forcing me to restart the process. They have been no help. Ive had to take selfies holding up the date and holding up my ID to upload on their app. Ive had to verify from both the app and get on a laptop to use the web browser to take a live webcam selfie of also a face match with both sides of my ID, which were then rejected for being too blurry after I attempted to retake the image six times to make sure it was as good as I could get it. Ive also had to take a picture of my ID front and back to upload to a third section for verification. 

They are making me complete all of these steps to verify my identity and even to start a new account. Yet the criminals that accessed my account one night managed to log in from a new unrecognized device and within 5 minutes managed to transfer out all of my assets without a single security precaution or verification step taken. Any other exchange requires a 48 hour hold period after a new device is connected as a security precaution. Coinbase does not care about the security of their customers. I've heard in the XXXX that Coinbase is responsible for losses up to {$250000.00} so it sounds like the XXXX needs to demand these same requirements from them. 


It doesn't make sense that a hacker can just log into my account from a new device one day and be able to just withdrawal over $ 130,000+ worth a Bitcoin with no questions asked without even an email verification, notification or warning from anyone or anything? Just my entire life savings vanishing instantly, no hoops, no protocols, no selfies, no ID scans, no webcam face matches, no nothing needed. This seems absolutely ridiculous to me. 


I had to discover on my own from my transaction history that this hacker transferred my money out of my COINBASE PRO account into my COINBASE account and then proceeded to withdraw my funds instantly in the amount of ( XXXX XXXX = $ XXXX USD ) at XXXX PM XXXX on XX/XX/21 as listed above. 

I did not receive a single email or notification from Coinbase mentioning anything about this entire transaction involving this VERY LARGE AMOUNT being taken from my account. I had no idea that anything other than the attempted purchase and transfer of {$1000.00} worth of XXXX had taken place on my account. I received several emails only pertaining to the {$1000.00} amount and none in reference to the over $ XXXX worth of XXXX XXXX 

So Coinbase decided to hold {$1000.00} for XXXX hours as a security precaution, yet let OVER $ XXXX get transferred out INSTANTLY without a single alert or notification to verify that this was in fact me. I didn't even receive a notification alerting me that my account was logged into from a new device in order to stop this in action or any means to dispute this particularly large fraudulent transaction. 

I submitted a complaint to the FBI cyber crimes unit. I feel that Coinbase is responsible for the loss of these funds, but they have not had anyone reach out to me. They just keep freezing my account, having me unfreeze it, and closing my tickets without any help looking into what actually happened. 

I reported everything that same night telling them that I did not authorize ANY transactions when I received the notifications about the {$1000.00} purchase and transfer. I even received emails saying my " Account Recovery was Successful '' yet my entire XXXX balance of over $ XXXX in USD value today is completely gone. 

I saw over XXXX cases similar to mine where customers money was stolen on Coinbase. I demanded that they reimburse me, yet they are acting as if cyber security hackers are not their responsibility. Even though they are a multibillion dollar corporation in the cryptocurrency space that just went public. 

I have no clue what else to do. They have all of the technology in order to resolve this issue as all transfers on the XXXX  are publicly visible and able to be tracked. You can see for yourself on the link below, the XXXX address that stole my XXXX has had numerous transactions valued at almost {$500000.00} all of which was most likely stolen from other people just like me through Coinbase. 

This link is the publicly available XXXX  address were stolen funds were transferred to : https : XXXX I had the flow of funds looked by a XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX through the address above. They stated that the largest portion of the funds go to XXXX designed for 'anonymizing ' or laundering XXXX. Coinbase has the technology and capabilities to trace 'through ' this. There are funds that flow to a variety of different entities as well, including a gambling service, as well as some other services & exchanges -- there are actually some funds that then go BACK INTO COINBASE via an intermediary address, which they found very interesting. Coinbase could seize these funds since they were stolen from one of their customers, but apparently they are choosing to do nothing.

There are plenty of leads worth Coinbase pursuing and these types of leads could help law enforcement better identify, and ultimately pursue the hacker. When dormant funds are found, Coinbase could make a move on intercepting funds. They are capable of doing this and choose not to and would rather millions continue to be stolen from their customers with no solutions and nowhere to turn for help. 

I was under the impression that my account was safe and secure using a large well known corporation like Coinbase, but obviously I was wrong. They need to step up their customer service and provide sufficient staff to handle the large influx of complaints and fraudulent transactions. They are processing billions to trillions of dollars in transactions daily and are cutting corners on customer service just to profit as much money as possible. This is a very clear example of corporate greed. 

There are millions of dollars are being stolen through their exchange with little to no help since it's cryptocurrency. XXXX is here to stay and just as valuable as any other asset here in XXXX and needs to be protected equally. We have to pay taxes when we withdraw these funds just like stocks, so why are we not protected when something bad happens? How are criminals getting away with stealing millions of dollars with no penalties? 

Something needs to be done. Coinbase uses false advertisement claiming to be the safest cryptocurrency exchange, yet come to discover they are the most hacked and most vulnerable exchange. They are enabling criminals to hack them by making it so easy for them. They are advertising to new customers constantly that are new to cryptocurrencies and trying to make them feel like they are safe with Coinbase, but when something actually happens they are not there for you. You have nobody to speak with and they have a robot tell you over and over that there is nothing that they can do and that the security of your account is not their responsibility. How is this legal in XXXX yet other countries are not allowing this? 

Coinbase needs to be held accountable for these losses since they do not have proper security measures in place to protect hackers from stealing funds. They need to revamp their systems and protocols to protect hard working customers using their services. I just lost enough money to pay off my house if I had only cashed out sooner. Now nothing is being done as over $ 130,000+ just walked out of my life forever! All because Coinbase doesn't feel my case is important enough to resolve?! Please help me and the thousands of other Americans going through this same scenario right now with zero help or support from Coinbase or similar app based XXXX exchange sites.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation