Canadian teens allegedly stole over $4M in crypto by impersonating Coinbase support
Two Canadian teenagers have been arrested and charged with stealing $4.2 million in cryptocurrency, CBC reports. July 4th.
Teens Steal $4.2 Million in BTC, ETH
The suspected teenagers allegedly stole a significant amount of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) by gaining unauthorized access to victims’ exchange accounts under the guise of supporting Coinbase.
While the most recent theft reached $4 million, the teenagers reportedly managed a total of $13.4 million in cryptocurrency.
Constant Hamilton, Ontario Police Officer Christa Lee Ernst characterized the modus operandi used by the perpetrators as spear phishing. This technique involves targeting and manipulating specific individuals to reveal account details.
The teenagers’ identities have not been released, but they are known to have used the pseudonyms “Feron” and “Gaze”. Some of the stolen funds were reportedly used to purchase social media accounts, specifically the Instagram handle @zombie.
The two teenagers were arrested and charged with stealing more than $5,000 and possession of property or property obtained by crime.
Although the incident was reported by local Canadian police, major US criminal authorities played a key role in the investigation. As Ernst said, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Intelligence Service’s Electronic Crime Task Force (ECTF) launched an investigation in June 2023. The theft victims are also reportedly US citizens.
Coinbase is often impersonated by scammers
Coinbase is frequently impersonated by scammers due to its status as a leading cryptocurrency exchange. The company has admitted that there was a massive phishing attack in 2021 that stole funds from 6,000 users between March and May. Coinbase has promised to compensate for any losses incurred during this period.
In 2022, an investor group Complaint It accused Coinbase of failing to take adequate measures to prevent fraud.
Coinbase is Dedicated page Educate users on how to identify and avoid phishing scams.
The post, which allegedly involved a Canadian teenager impersonating Coinbase support and stealing over $4 million in cryptocurrency, first appeared on CryptoSlate.
