Coinbase
Coinbase has been named in 3 documented digital harm incidents. The most common harm domain is Fraud & Financial.
Documented Incidents
3Elderly man loses hundreds of thousands of dollars to Coinbase impersonation scam via phone calls
A New York-based scammer named Christian Nieves, operating under the aliases "Daytwo" and "PawsOnHips," stole over $4 million from Coinbase users through a social engineering scam. The scam involved impersonating Coinbase customer support during phone calls and tricking victims into providing access to pre-compromised crypto wallets. The scam occurred between November 2024 and June 2025, with evidence including call recordings, Discord messages, and blockchain data published on June 23. Nieves used stolen funds to purchase luxury goods and gamble on crypto betting sites like Roobet under the username "pawsonhips." Some victims, including an elderly man, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nieves was not acting alone; accomplices helped manage the fake support center and track wallet inflows.
Denver man loses $176,000 to Coinbase impersonation scam via fake customer support call and phishing email, recovering $95,000 with assistance from FBI
A Denver man named Glen Fishman lost $176,000 in a cryptocurrency scam in November 2024 after a caller impersonated a Coinbase customer support representative. The scammer convinced Fishman that he needed to unlock his account and sent him a fake email that appeared to be from Coinbase. Fishman followed the scammer’s instructions, uploading his ID, passport, and eventually his account password. After realizing the scam, Fishman discovered all his funds had been drained and sold. Law enforcement, including the FBI, recovered $95,000 of the stolen funds, but it may take up to a year for Fishman to regain the money. Fishman said the financial loss has delayed his retirement and caused significant emotional distress.
Multiple victims defrauded of cryptocurrency via pig-butchering scams on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Meta removed over 2 million accounts linked to "pig-butchering" scams in 2024, which involve scammers building fake online relationships to defraud victims of cryptocurrency investments. The scams often begin on dating apps or social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, before moving to Telegram, which is known for limited moderation. In September 2024, the FBI reported that victims lost nearly $4 billion to crypto investment scams, primarily pig-butchering. Meta announced new measures, including automatically flagging potential scam messages and collaborating with other tech companies through the Tech Against Scams coalition. The company also took down accounts linked to a scam operation in Cambodia, which had used AI tools like ChatGPT to communicate with victims. Critics, however, argue that these efforts are insufficient and too slow to address the growing scale of the problem.