Recently, a cryptocurrency scam disguised as Coinbase customer service has occurred, using sophisticated phishing techniques specifically targeting high-net-worth individuals such as company CEOs, CFOs, and software engineers. Their goal is to transfer the victims’ funds to wallets controlled by the scammers, and the scammers even boasted that their aim is to achieve a monthly income of $100,000.
The scam method is straightforward, combining forged notifications with malicious links. According to reports, some company executives have taken countermeasures upon receiving scam calls, attempting to expose the operation details of the scam group. The scammers claim that their main method is impersonating Coinbase customer service and notifying victims of a “canceled password change request,” providing a notification with a malicious link. The purpose is to deceive the victims into transferring funds to wallets controlled by the scammers rather than directly stealing passwords.
The scammers openly admit that they target only “rich people” and have no interest in the poor. They obtain victim information from certain databases, such as user data from Unchained Capital. The scammers bluntly state, “We have no interest in poor people. The minimum threshold in our database is people with assets over $50,000.”
In addition, the scammers also use a tool called “auto-doxxer” to further obtain victims’ personal information and disguise the email source as the well-known cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, increasing credibility.
The scammers even reveal that they use decentralized tools such as Tornado Cash to launder money and sometimes convert the stolen funds into privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero to evade tracking. They do not use any exchanges that require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and manage funds using cold wallets like Ledger. If the stolen funds need to be converted into fiat currency, they use third-party intermediaries to conceal the flow of funds.
The scammers also state that cryptocurrency scams are like “the chaotic market of the American West in the past.” Their current goal is to earn a monthly income of $100,000, and they even mock the company executives they call, saying, “If you lose $30,000 or $40,000, who are you going to call? The cryptocurrency police?” It is both amusing and distressing.
(October Sees a Surge in Cryptocurrency Scams, Global Crypto Market Hacked for $129 Million in a Single Month)