Canadian teens allegedly stole over $4M in crypto by impersonating Coinbase support

Two Canadian teenagers have been apprehended and charged in connection with the theft of $4.2 million in cryptocurrency, according to a report by CBC on July 4.

Teens stole $4.2M in BTC, ETH

The accused teenagers allegedly stole a substantial amount in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) by posing as Coinbase support and gaining unauthorized access to a victim’s exchange account.

While the recent theft amounted to $4 million, the teenagers reportedly had control over a total of $13.4 million in cryptocurrency.

Const. Krista-Lee Ernst, a police officer from Hamilton, Ontario, characterized the method used by the culprits as spear phishing. This technique involves targeting a specific individual and manipulating them into revealing their account details.

The identities of the teenagers remain undisclosed, but they are known to have used the pseudonyms “Felon” and “Gaze.” Part of the stolen funds was reportedly used to purchase a social media account, specifically the Instagram handle “@zombie.”

The two teenagers have been arrested and charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of property or proceeds of property obtained by crime.

Despite the case being reported by local Canadian police, major U.S. criminal authorities played a significant role in the investigation. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF) initiated the investigation in June 2023, as stated by Ernst. The victim of the theft is also reported to be a U.S. citizen.

Coinbase is often impersonated by scammers

Coinbase is frequently impersonated by scammers due to its status as a major cryptocurrency exchange. The company acknowledged a widespread phishing attack in 2021, during which 6,000 users had their funds stolen between March and May. Coinbase pledged to reimburse the losses incurred during this period.

In 2022, a group of investors filed a complaint against Coinbase, alleging that the company failed to take adequate measures to prevent scams.

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