Onchain analyst ZackXBT has reported that an additional $45 million was stolen from Coinbase users in the last seven days through social engineering scams. This brings the estimated total annual losses among Coinbase customers to $330 million. ZackXBT emphasized the uniqueness and scale of this problem at Coinbase compared to other major exchanges.
Security concerns have surged as scammers grow more sophisticated, posing as Coinbase support staff or using tactics like fake job offers and malicious software downloads to deceive users. The FBI has repeatedly warned crypto users, particularly since mid-2024, about the dangers of such social engineering attacks. These scams often result in direct financial losses and compromise sensitive user information.
In response to the escalating threat, Coinbase's chief security officer has advocated for a unified framework to streamline scam reporting and enhance protection for users. Communication with Cointelegraph indicated that Coinbase had not publicly responded to these new claims at the time of reporting.