I just made $168,000 in Crypto..risk free! My secret? I didn't buy any!
Hackers drain Coinbase accounts
For Tanja Vidovic, it was a moment of panic: nearly all of her $168,000 in holdings was gone — vanished before her eyes.
“I signed onto the crypto. And I said, ‘It’s gone,’” Tanja said.
The Vidovics said they tried to contact Coinbase but they couldn’t get anybody on the phone.
Making the issue even worse, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed, according to the FBI. Experts say once criminals access an account, funds can be drained in minutes.
In April, CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC:
“People no longer need to be scared of it like in the early days.”
Ben, a Virginia resident who asked that his last name be withheld, said he saw thousands of dollars vanish. He logged onto his Coinbase app in March, verifying his identity with two-factor authentication, but over a four-minute stretch almost $35,000 in various coins disappeared from his account, he said.
Experts say SIM swapping, where fraudsters seize control of a victim’s phone number and SIM card through their phone company, is to blame for many of the cryptocurrency thefts.
“The problem with SIM swapping and cryptocurrency is the moment you lose access to your cell phone, professional hackers will steal all of your money in less than 30 minutes,” said David Silver, an attorney who focuses on cryptocurrency.
Edited by Rogerdodger, 25 August 2021 - 01:27 PM.