Fred, a 60-year-old man from Connecticut, had over $100,000 drained from his Coinbase account after falling victim to a phone scam. The scammers posed as a Coinbase customer service representative and convinced Fred to share his password and open his online banking portal. This led to the transfer of significant funds out of his account.
Fred feels embarrassed about the incident due to his lack of knowledge in the crypto space, describing himself as a “lamb to a slaughter.” He is also critical of Google for allowing such scams to occur on its platform. The ad that triggered the scam appeared at the top of Fred’s search results when he looked up Coinbase’s customer service number.
This incident is not unique; another user reported losing $3,000 worth of USDC stablecoin after clicking on a Google ad for Superbridge, which turned out to be a scam site.
Google has taken steps to prevent such scams, including deleting the fake Superbridge advertiser account. The company also emphasized its strict policies against these types of ads and its efforts to remove them quickly when identified. However, other reports suggest that crypto scammers have become more sophisticated in their tactics, making it challenging for Google’s automated tools to detect and block these ads.
As for Fred, he has been directed by local authorities to the FBI office in New Haven, Connecticut, where an agent is working with law enforcement in India to recover his stolen funds. The authorities are attempting to seize the wallet containing the stolen money, which is intermingled with funds from other fraud victims. If successful, Fred may be able to recover some of his lost funds.
Source: https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/08/15/a-coinbase-user-thought-he-called-customer-support-instead-he-lost-100000-in-20-minutes-to-scammers/