Over $33 Million in Bitcoin Stolen from Coinbase Users in Recent Scam Attack, Investigator Reveals

Over the past few weeks, a number of Coinbase users have fallen victim to a series of scams, with one user losing a substantial amount—400 bitcoin

A recent report by on-chain investigator ZachXBT has shed light on a series of scams targeting Coinbase users, culminating in a massive theft of 400 bitcoin, valued at roughly $33.5 million today.

Over the past few weeks, several Coinbase users have fallen victim to scams, with the majority being executed through social engineering. While the exact methods remain unclear, ZachXBT identified the wallet "bc1qvl" as the destination for the stolen funds.

The thefts began on March 16, with amounts of 20 BTC and 46 BTC being siphoned off from Coinbase users. Subsequent thefts on March 21 and March 28 saw 60 BTC and another 60 BTC being transferred to the same wallet.

After arriving in the bc1qvl wallet, the stolen bitcoin was then moved to Ethereum's blockchain using tools like THORChain and Chainflip. The final destination of the stolen cryptocurrency remains unknown.

This isn't the first time ZachXBT has highlighted such attacks against Coinbase users. Last year, scammers posing as Coinbase support managed to steal $234 million in bitcoin from a Gemini creditor, leading to the arrest of three suspects.

Moreover, just last month, ZachXBT reported that criminals had exploited Coinbase users for $65 million between December and January.

Despite the growing concern, Coinbase appears to have yet to update its compliance tools to flag the theft addresses involved in these recent scams.

As the cryptocurrency space continues to expand, so too do the threats posed by scammers. Users are urged to exercise extreme caution and verify any request for assistance or information, especially when dealing with large sums of cryptocurrency.