Fake Coinbase notification: Massive Bitcoin loss! User loses whopping $11 mn

Fake Coinbase notification: A Coinbase user lost $11.6m in Bitcoin, after clicking on a fake notification. Here’s how the fraud took place

Fake Coinbase notification: Here is what the authorities did to reclaim some of the lost Bitcoin. (REUTERS)

Fake Coinbase notification: A Coinbase user lost 200 Bitcoin to cryptocurrency fraud earlier this year, the US Attorneys Office has revealed, according to a new report. In what turned out to be a very expensive lesson for the owner, 206 Bitcoin were stolen from the victim's account, accounting for a loss of a whopping 11.6 million dollars.

According to a report by Business Insider, the Coinbase user had spent money on purchasing 200 Bitcoin in April. However, after the transaction was completed, the user allegedly saw a notification popup that stated that their account was locked. While it appeared to be a genuine notification, it was not from Coinbase, and was designed to commit cryptocurrency fraud, according to the report.

The complaint filed by the US Attorney's Office, reportedly states that the notification received by the user, led to the crypto fraud that resulted in the loss of 206 Bitcoin, or $11.6 million. However, the report does not mention whether the notification was received on a smartphone or on computer. Meanwhile, it is also silent on how the alleged thief was aware of the transaction that involved 200 Bitcoin.

The victim allegedly called up a number in the notification which they believed was genuine, and connected with who they believed was a customer service representative. They were directed to make changes to their account which allowed remote access, and allowed the fraudster to change the daily transaction limit and alert settings. In less than 10 minutes, the victim allegedly lost millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, according to the report.

Out of the total amount that was stolen, around 10.2 mn was deposited in an account in a Huobi Global account. Earlier last month, a federal judge in the US approved a warrant to get back $6,00,000 from the Huobi account, and a forfeiture notification was filed, the report states, and the funds have been frozen by Huobi until the forfeiture action is resolved.