Consumer complaint received 2026-01-21 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
How the Scam Worked I was defrauded through a sophisticated XXXX  investment scam operating under the name " XXXX. '' The fraud involved a fake investment platform that displayed false account balances and earnings to induce me to transfer increasingly large amounts of XXXX. 
Initial Contact and Recruitment Contacted via XXXX from multiple phone numbers including XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Offered opportunity to earn money by completing " matching tasks '' on e-commerce platform Promised escalating " salaries '' : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX over XXXX period Assured I could withdraw all funds after completing tasks Assigned XXXX " XXXX '' and status " XXXX XXXX '' The Platform and Fake Interface Professional-looking website : XXXX Displayed product images ( leather goods, appliances, furniture, etc. ) Showed " wallet balance '' and " profit earned '' that appeared to increase Required completing XX/XX/XXXX " matching tasks '' before withdrawal Customer Service chat function that appeared legitimate The Trap : Super Orders and Forced Additional Payments The core fraud mechanism involved " super orders '' or " continuous orders '' that created negative balances requiring additional XXXX  deposits : Platform would show orders with amounts exceeding my account balance Display " Pending - {$990.00} '' or similar deficits in red Claim I needed to deposit more funds to " complete '' the order Threaten that uncompleted orders would result in loss of all previous investments Each time I completed one order, another larger order would appear Manipulation Tactics Used XXXX Deadlines : Customer Service would impose strict deadlines, claiming orders must be completed within XXXX hours or I would lose all funds and damage my " credit score. '' Merchant Approval Language : CS referenced " the merchant '' as separate authority who had to " approve '' extensions, creating appearance of legitimate business structure. 
False Cooperation : CS appeared helpful, granting extension requests and providing wallet addresses, maintaining illusion of eventual withdrawal. 
Fraudulent Contracts : Provided XXXX professional-looking contracts with forged signatures and corporate seals, promising withdrawal upon completion. 
XXXX XXXX : When I completed XX/XX/XXXX tasks, platform would " reset '' tasks, requiring continued participation. 
Critical Evidence of Fraud : The XX/XX/XXXX Contradiction On XX/XX/XXXX, I explicitly asked Customer Service : " This next payment will max out all funds available to me. Can you verify with the miners that this is the final payment? '' CS provided written confirmation : " I have confirmed the relevant matters with the miners, and they have made it clear that the computing power fee required to start the mining machine this time will be the LAST computing power fee you need to pay. '' Based on this explicit written promise, I transferred {$230000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Hours later, CS demanded an additional {$320000.00} for a " block transaction channel '' fee, directly contradicting their written promise. 
FINANCIAL DETAILS XXXX  Transfers to Fraudsters Exchange : Coinbase XX/XX/XXXX : {$1600.00} ( XXXX  ) XX/XX/XXXX : {$8.00} ( XXXX  ) XX/XX/XXXX : {$59000.00} ( XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  ) : {$140000.00} ( XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  ) : {$59000.00} ( XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX : {$230000.00} ( XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX : {$110000.00} ( XXXX ) Coinbase Total : {$610000.00} Exchange : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : {$49000.00} ( XXXX  ) TOTAL XXXX  SENT TO FRAUDSTERS : {$660000.00} XXXX  Destination Addresses XXXX Address : XXXX Ethereum/USDC Addresses : XXXX ( XXXX transactions, {$260000.00} ) XXXX ( {$230000.00} ) XXXX ( {$110000.00} ) XXXX ( {$8.00} ) How I Funded the Transfers To fund these cryptocurrency transfers, I was forced to incur substantial debt : Original home equity loan ( {$30000.00} ) - diverted from deck construction to fraud XXXX Prosper personal loans totaling {$39000.00} at 15.90 % interest XXXX Home Equity Line of Credit XXXX {$83000.00} at 9.99 % interest XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX {$480000.00} at 6.912 % interest Personal savings : {$1500.00} Total Debt Incurred : {$630000.00} Current Outstanding Debt : {$560000.00} ( secured by home equity and investment portfolio ) CONTACT INFORMATION FOR FRAUDSTERS WhatsApp Phone Numbers : XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ( primary contact ) XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Website : directiveex.com ( platform interface ) Note : Website became inaccessible after XX/XX/XXXX Company Name Used : '' Directive '' ( no legal entity identified ) User Account Details : XXXX : XXXX, Status : XXXX employee

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation