Crypto scammers hammered Coinbase users hard in March 2025, making off with $46 million through sophisticated social engineering attacks. The thieves deployed fake phone calls, phishing emails, and perfect website replicas to dupe wealthy crypto holders. Despite growing criticism, Coinbase remains oddly quiet about the thefts, which include massive Bitcoin heists of 20, 46, and 60 BTC. This latest blow suggests the platform’s security woes are far from over.
Scammers have dealt a crushing $46 million blow to Coinbase users in March alone, exploiting everything from fake phone calls to phishing emails in a massive wave of social engineering attacks. The cryptocurrency exchange giant has remained suspiciously quiet about these incidents, despite mounting criticism over their apparent lack of action against known theft addresses.
Coinbase users hemorrhage millions as scammers unleash sophisticated attacks, while the exchange remains eerily silent about mounting theft reports.
These aren’t your garden-variety crypto thieves. They’re running a sophisticated operation, targeting wealthy users with an arsenal of deceptive tactics. Their favorite move? Spoofed phone calls warning about “unauthorized login attempts.” And they’ve got the nerve to create perfect replicas of Coinbase websites, complete with bogus case ID numbers that would fool even the most careful users. Experts recommend using hardware wallets for maximum security against such sophisticated attacks.
The March heist is just the tip of the iceberg. Between December 2024 and January 2025, users lost a staggering $65 million. Do the math – we’re looking at annual losses exceeding $300 million. In one particularly brutal incident, scammers made off with 400 Bitcoin. The recent theft of 110 cbBTC on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, showcases the escalating scale of these attacks. Talk about a bad day at the crypto office.
These con artists aren’t amateurs. They’re using platforms like Thorchain and Chainflip to bounce stolen funds between cryptocurrencies, eventually converting them to stablecoins like DAI. Three major thefts occurred in March, with losses of 20.028 BTC, 46.147 BTC, and 60.164 BTC on consecutive dates. They’ve even set up shop on Telegram channels, because apparently, scamming needs a social media presence these days.
Critics are hammering Coinbase for their sluggish response to security incidents and failure to flag addresses linked to theft. Security investigators are particularly vocal about the exchange’s apparent reluctance to implement stronger protective measures. Meanwhile, there are whispers that the reported losses might be just a fraction of the actual damage.
The scammers’ playbook keeps evolving. They’re now sophisticated enough to discourage victims from using VPNs to avoid detection and clever enough to impersonate Coinbase support staff convincingly. And while awareness campaigns and security measures exist, the losses keep mounting. Frankly, it’s starting to look less like a series of scams and more like a full-blown crisis.
