ZachXBT Exposes $2-Million Coinbase Impersonation Scam Onchain Clues

Onchain investigator ZachXBT exposed a sophisticated social engineering campaign where scammers impersonated Coinbase support, successfully defrauding users of roughly $2 million in cryptocurrency over the past year. ZachXBT attributed the scam by cross-referencing onchain activity with social media footprints, including Telegram chats and lifestyle posts from the alleged scammer, despite the suspect's attempts to obscure their trail.

Coinbase repeatedly warns customers that legitimate support will never ask for passwords, 2FA codes, seed phrases, or request users move funds to a "safe" address. These impersonation scams rely on urgency and authority to pressure victims into acting quickly. The FBI reported over $16 billion in internet crime losses in 2024, highlighting that low-tech social engineering remains a major threat in the crypto space.

ZachXBT's work often forces industry action, and in this case, it sheds light on how stolen customer context—potentially from past data breaches—can make these impersonation attempts highly convincing. Coinbase advises users to break the attacker's tempo by ending suspicious calls/chats and independently verifying support through official channels.

(Source：Cointelegraph)