Consumer complaint received 2021-10-30
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I signed up with the cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase Inc, on XX/XX/21, I funded my account on XX/XX/21 and just 1 day later my account was hacked and drained of over {$230000.00} in funds and assets. 

I have evidence that shows Coinbase leaked, or gave employees access to my personal information that consisted of : my phone number, my email and my account status at Coinbase - this main factor absolutely proves this was not a random phishing attack, the hacker knew I was an account holder at Coinbase, and only Coinbase and I were privy to that information. This leak of my personal information and account status at Coinbase jeopardized the security of my account and allowed for what blatantly appears an inside, orchestrated, fake support hack via Coinbases servers and employees to take place depleting me of all my funds and assets. This is also a case of identity theft as they were posing as me, the account holder, when accessing my Coinbase account. It was mind-blowing to be online chatting with Coinbase support through a chat window on their website ( it is verified in my Coinbase Activity Report, this was not a spoofed website, I was chatting with someone posing as support via Coinbases servers ) and watching as my money was being drained from my account right before my eyes. I was unable to stop it or withdraw the money myself because the the support person put a lock on my account that would keep me from performing any withdrawals or transfers myself. 

I have used other cryptocurrency exchanges and nothing like this has ever occurred before. I follow all security protocols and never have any of my accounts been compromised let alone completely drained. Coinbase makes it very difficult to find a legitimate customer support number to call in an emergency and no real lock down method should you find your account in critical jeopardy. When they finally do lock the account they also lock the customer out and dont allow them to withdraw or transfer money for days, sometimes months, while they investigate the situation. They basically hijack their customers funds and prevent them from relinquishing what they might have left in their account. 

Coinbase has taken no responsibility whatsoever for this situation and solely blames me saying it was my fault and that I was the victim of a " fake support hack '' - but the real fact of the matter, and one they keep attempting to side-step is they allowed for my sensitive information to fall in the hands of these hackers, and there is no way it was a random attack- they knew I was an account holder and the only way that wold be possible is if they worked for the company or that info was leaked to them by Coinbase. Also to be noted is the " fake '' support people I chatted with were communicating with me via Coinbase 's servers, which you can see plainly on my Coinbase Activity Report. I am convinced this was all an inside job based on : the verification email I received from an unknown IP address that was sent via Coinbase 's email servers, my Coinbase Data Reports, Coinbase Activity Report and the Coinbase chat transcript from the fake support I received that morning I was hacked. I will provide all of this documentation attached to this complaint. 

This data breach on Coinbase 's behalf needs to be thoroughly investigated. The company needs to be shut down until they can be trusted again. You will find thousands of other cases just like mine occurring daily - I will be including a few from social media sources such as XXXX and XXXX and I have included just a few examples in my Coinbase Evidence Report, you can find thousands more online.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation