According to reports, crypto scammers reportedly earn a five-figure weekly income by impersonating Coinbase support and utilizing leaked data to target high-ranking CEOs, CFOs, and software engineers.
Nick Neuman, the CEO and co-founder of Casa, a provider of Bitcoin self-custody solutions, recently conversed with a Coinbase support fraudster.
As a result of his decision to “turn the tables on him and ask him about being a scammer,” he discovered more than he had anticipated.
When inquired about their earnings, the fraudster responded, “We generate at least five figures weekly; we recently achieved $35K. We engage in this activity for a legitimate purpose; profitability is achievable.”
In a video posted on X on November 20, Neuman documented the conversation in which the scammer claimed that a password change request had been revoked and a notification had been sent, thereby orchestrating the attack.
Neuman inquired of the scammer regarding the type of individuals susceptible to phishing assaults after the “notification” included a malicious link.
“You would be surprised; individuals such as yourself are the CEO of Casa […]. We are targeting software engineers, CFOs, and CEOs,” he stated before continuing.
“We don’t call poor people, the data we have is from a database where the minimum you have to have is $50,000,”
The fraudster stated that “money or education is not a determining factor,” asserting they obtained information about their high-roller targets from the Bitcoin financial services company Unchained Capital.
“We have the Unchained database, and we assume that if you’re into crypto, you’ll have a Coinbase account, so that’s how we run it.”
The scammer also disclosed that they employ an “auto-doxxer” to obtain additional information about their targets before conducting phishing conversations. Additionally, they can spoof emails to make them appear to be from Coinbase.
The fraudster stated that the ultimate objective is not to obtain the victim’s password but to induce them to transfer funds to a wallet under their control.
He stated that they have utilized Tornado Cash to launder the stolen crypto, as they are not situated in the United States, and occasionally exchange it for the privacy coin Monero.
“After you hold it in XMR for a couple of days, that bitch is gone, you’re not seeing the funds again.”
Upon inquiry regarding the conversion to fiat, he stated that they do not employ any KYC exchanges and rely on hardware wallets. He specifically mentioned Ledger, the target of fraud attacks since its database was breached in 2020, before utilizing intermediaries to facilitate the transaction.
The fraudster claimed that it was effortless to access company databases and that cryptocurrency was akin to the “Wild Wild West.” “Who will you contact if you incur a $30-$40,000 loss for or?” He responded, “The crypto police?” and disclosed that he is currently trying to generate $100,000 monthly from the fraud.
Web3 security firm Scam Sniffer reports that crypto phishing assaults resulted in over $127 million in theft in Q3, 2024.