Coinbase: fraud or scam

Collect

• transaction IDs and wallet addresses
• screenshots of messages
• caller numbers
• FTC or IC3 report number

Steps

1. Lock the account at once if someone else may have access.

   FormLock or unlock a compromised account

2. Report the loss through Coinbase's help center.

   FormReport an account loss after a security incident Sign-in required

3. If a caller asked for codes, passwords or a transfer, hang up and email Coinbase security.

   EmailCoinbase security email (after a suspicious call) security@coinbase.com

4. Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI at ic3.gov.

   RegulatorFederal Trade Commission +1-877-382-4357

5. If Coinbase does not resolve it, file with the CFPB.

   RegulatorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau +1-855-411-2372

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Compensation

  For the May 2025 insider data theft, Coinbase said it intends to voluntarily reimburse eligible retail customers who sent funds to the threat actor as a direct result of the incident, after it reviews the facts. It estimated costs of about $180 million to $400 million for remediation and reimbursements.

  Source: sec.gov, verified 2026-10-13

• Policy

  Coinbase said the May 2025 incident did not involve passwords or private keys, and the contractors or employees involved could not access customer funds.

  Source: sec.gov, verified 2026-10-13

• Process

  The Coinbase U.S. User Agreement requires its Formal Complaint Process before any arbitration claim or small claims action. The process ends when Coinbase responds or 45 business days after it receives the complaint, whichever comes first. Seen in search-engine extracts of the agreement.

  Source: coinbase.com, verified 2026-10-13

• Policy

  Appendix 5 of the U.S. User Agreement requires, with limited exceptions, that all disputes be resolved by binding arbitration, and contains a class action and jury trial waiver. Seen in search-engine extracts of the agreement.

  Source: coinbase.com, verified 2026-10-13

• The CFPB received 1,292 complaints about Coinbase, Inc. from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. 895 were closed with explanation, 394 with monetary relief and 3 with non-monetary relief; 23 responses were not timely. The top issues were other transaction problems (340), fraud or scam (326) and money not available when promised (226).

  Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-13

Tips

• Company tip

  Coinbase recommends a hardware security key or an authenticator app for 2-step verification instead of SMS, because phone numbers can be ported and stolen. Seen in search-engine extracts of Coinbase pages.

  Source: coinbase.com, verified 2026-10-13

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   FormCoinbase Help Center (support requests and chat) Sign-in required

2. Written complaint

   EmailCoinbase security email (after a suspicious call) security@coinbase.com

   The User Agreement requires its Formal Complaint Process (a complaint form) before arbitration or small claims. A 2021 law firm summary gives the form as help.coinbase.com/en/contact-us/submit-a-complaint.

3. Federal regulator

   RegulatorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau +1-855-411-2372

4. State agency

   Your state’s financial regulator. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

   Complain to your state financial regulator.

5. Arbitration

   Appendix 5 of the User Agreement requires binding arbitration with limited exceptions, plus class action and jury trial waivers.

Watch out

Related

• Fraud or scam at other companies
• How Coinbase complaints actually go (dossier, checked 2026-10-13)
• Brokerages and crypto platforms — how complaints work
• Coinbase: account access
• Coinbase: account frozen or closed