Scammer allegedly posing as Coinbase anti-fraud employee

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has received a complaint from a California resident regarding a crypto asset scam.

The victim told the DFPI he received a call from a man stating he worked for fraud department at Coinbase. The consumer also received a large number of texts at about the same time. The caller told the consumer his account was being hacked and, since the caller seemed legitimate, the victim worked with the caller to stop the hack. The victim subsequently found that the caller had changed the phone number affiliated with his account and all his assets had disappeared. These allegations have not been verified by the DFPI.

Consumers should never share account or personal information with unsolicited callers. Instead, contact the company involved directly. So-called imposter scams, where scammers pretend to be someone else, have become increasingly common. More information is available here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/imposter-scams.

The DFPI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. To check whether an investment or financial service provider is licensed in California, consumers may contact the Department for questions or inquiries at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677. If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/.