Consumer complaint received 2022-09-22
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I met XXXX XXXX on a dating app, XXXX, around XX/XX/2022. He claimed to be XXXX XXXX XXXX, of XXXX XXXX and lived in XXXX XXXX from the age of XXXX to his late XXXX ( approximately ). He also claimed to manage a team of several people to sell medical equipment ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) for XXXX, in the XXXX area and has a house in XXXX, XXXX  and XXXX XXXX, XXXX 

We started texting on the phone, but switched to an app called XXXX, based on his suggestion. He said that its the app he uses to talk to his family in XXXX XXXX and thus, wanted to use it to message me. As conversations continued, he mentioned that he enjoyed investing and wanted to share that with me. I expressed how uncomfortable I am with investing since Im not very familiar with it. He continued to pressure me into investing my savings in bitcoin, with his guidance. He sent me to specific website, using coinbase and XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX The website and transactions appeared legitimate since I saw transactions change my account balance in real time. ( Unbeknownst to me, the website url changed to XXXX XXXX After several weeks, he said that the stable node ended so I should withdraw my funds to my coinbase wallet. After completing his instructions on XX/XX/2022, the sites customer service ( XXXX  ) told me that I am not able to receive my capital gains until I make a tax payment to the IRS of {$110000.00} within 7 working days or I will face penalties and possible time in prison. I was very confused as I didnt expect to produce so much income in a short amount of time. After discussing the matter with XXXX, he explained that this is a normal process and that I have nothing to be concerned with. As someone that wants to believe in a man that claimed to be in love with me, I quickly gathered more money for the tax payment that I was told I am obligated to pay. We spoke over the phone ( through the XXXX XXXX ) so he could further gain my trust. He is soft spoken with an XXXX XXXX 

After transferring the money to avoid possible penalties and time in prison on XX/XX/2022, the sites customer service stated that they can not release my funds until they receive an additional {$50000.00} security deposit because of anti-money laundering ( AML ) regulations. After receiving the request for the security deposit, I tried to determine the legitimacy of the transaction even further and have not received responses from XXXX XXXX or the exchanges customer service. Furthermore, XXXX has since deleted the chat history in XXXX. He does not respond to his phone number ( XXXX ) that Im assuming is a virtual phone line and does not allow blocked numbers to call a phone number associated with his name in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

I notified XXXX on XX/XX/2022. 
I reported the fraud scam to the FBI on XX/XX/2022 and then updated them on XX/XX/2022 in their XXXX website. 
I reported the fraud scam to the XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2022. 

I have made claims with XXXX XXXX Bank regarding the wire transfers on XX/XX/2022. 
I reported the matter to Coinbase and Coinbase XXXX on XX/XX/2022, only to have my Coinbase account locked on XX/XX/2022. Additionally, I spoke with Coinbase 's Customer Service over the phone on XX/XX/2022 and was told that Coinbase can not take any action to assist me with the matter without being mandated by the federal authorities.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation