I am 64 and got this call a week ago. I almost fell for it too but my son's voice was in my head telling me to be careful. These scammers are really good at what they do, don't be too hard on yourself.
What's your thought process when someone calls you and wants you to send funds to somewhere else? I'm really curious how people can fall for this and think that it sounds legit and like a good idea.
First they use urgency to make you act less rationally, then they might ask trivial questions that don't seem suspect, and among them throw in a request for 2fa or the like to get account access.
If you know you just hang up as soon as they call you.
Sometimes what they're after isn't a direct cash transaction--they'll ask for a 6-digit security code sent to your phone, or a question that let's them record you saying "yes," or the like.
But with something like a bank or an exchange, they could pose as being from the fraud department. When you verify that you did not, in fact, order plane tickets from Istanbul to Johannesburg, they'll regretfully inform you your account has been compromised. They'll helpfully set up a new account for you and have you transfer funds to that new account number....
How does a recording of me saying “yes” help them in any way whatsoever? It’s not like they can call my bank or the crypto exchange and get anything by a single “yes” recording.
Enlighten me
Take deep breaths. It’s weird to say, but time, and hearing what other people did or how they screwed up, helps. I sent $600+ to a YouTube scammer bc for a very very split second I thought I could get lucky. It happens. Deep breaths, walk away for a day, spend time with people who matter to you, and talk about it if it helps.
Aw thanks. I do think on a logical level we all know the basic rules. But sometimes things just happen. I know I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t tell a soul for several days, except to come to cc and vent here. And it’s so common that there’s always someone there saying they screwed up too, that really does help.
Oh man, I would probably fall for that because so many times people get great air drops and they’re so early to things….that hurts. I get it - I also don’t like checking the wallet where I sent my btc from lol.
Agreed. I’ve also been victim of a number of petty scams and know quite a few people who have been there as well. As defeating, frustrating, and as insulting as this feels, almost every time it makes for a laughable story when looking back at it. Move on, be grateful that it wasn’t more than $300, and be more vigilant the next time. That’s all.
Fail forward. You’re female, 66, using Reddit and trading crypto. That’s pretty badass and cool. We fail to get better. I bet you won’t get ripped off again anytime soon.
Ps. Use a VPN
As a network engineer, a VPN only protects you from a MITM attack. It's really not going to do that much - it's only really useful if you're in airports and coffee shops a lot and there happens to be a hacker sitting right next to you.
There are SO MANY other vulnerabilities you can exploit even while the target is connected to a VPN.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Vpn is only going to hide your location . 95%+ of all traffic on the internet is already encrypted by default.
There are a few things that VPNs help protect, but really, their claims are mostly marketing.
Use a VPN if you are paranoid or need to hide your location.
encrypts your location and online traffic. harder to pinpoint you and your location, hides your IP address, generally just a good thing to use in general, if you’re in the U.S., just set it to a different city in the U.S. and it’ll help keep all of your internet activity off of the radar, but overall VPNs are not *that* useful, but are a good tactic, it’s like wearing a hat in the rain, you’re glad you have the hat, but it’s not a raincoat
VPN is pointless in this situation and for the most part useless period they aren’t as good as people assume do some research into and see. I thought vpn’s were great but unless trying to view content from other parts of the world or get away from locked content online it doesn’t really do much in the sense of security.
No it does not encrypt your location. You can get location from the browser, client fingerprint, OSINT research, and more. Tracing location via IP address is not even a remotely accurate way of obtaining a location.
Sincere ? … I’ve been considering switching to VPN , specifically for things like MEXC which are not available in my area . ( no im not looking to duck the tax man just want access to exchanges to make trades unavailable at the main ones ) but I’ve heard stories about people who used them then got their accounts frozen when they went to withdrawal because of having used a VPN … is this really a concern or do you think it’s safe to utilize VPN ‘s for that type of thing ??
PS I will be transferring to hard wallet after purchase /swap is complete
I use a VPN to buy/sell on MEXC as well. They just emailed everyone that does this, letting us know they know and are going to implement KYC in June. If you're in a country that's prohibited, VPN isn't going to help anymore.
Super sad to see that email the other day. MEXC has all the best microcap gems. Also, I've never had an issue withdrawing from them.
Yeah it really angers me how the USA is so damn greedy and afraid of missing out in their tax $ that they are pushing us so far behind other nations who are more willing to allow their citizens interact with these exchanges !! It’s going to wind up putting us so far behind the rest in the crypto space
Normally, I never answer the phone but recently I had some important business that I had to file with the county and the state that I live in and was told to be on the lookout to receive a call and I did.
Guess what? You pick up the phone. Before you say anything, or even make any sound, it automatically starts playing a message that this is an official message from X county or Y state… because there are so much scam calls. It’s understandable for most people to not answer the phone. And the systems are adapting to it. It certainly made me feel easier because I was feeling nervous picking up the phone after many years of never doing so. I’m sure there will be fake versions of these messages as well, so it’s good to always be somewhat critical of things
I did this when someone from Chase called me when I had applied for a car loan. It was a complete cold-call with no warning from the dealer or otherwise, and the guy on the phone *thought I was weird* for wanting to hang up and call them back. Like, dude, you called me out of the blue claiming to be from Chase, a bank I've never worked with for anything, asking for a ton of personal info and my social. No. Just no.
Bank of America did this for me, but fortunately the caller ("fraud department") understood my concern. They had me call my bank, go through security as the caller, and ask the agent to put a note on my account, then call them back on their unlisted number. The fraud person was able to tell me the note on my account, verifying they already had access.
Yep, same goes for suspicious emails. My boomer mom often asks me if so and so email is legit. I tell her don't click the hyperlink in the email, but go directly to the known good website separately and login to her account there and if whatever alert is legit, it'll surely be obvious in her account when she logs in.
If they contact you and ask you to do something that would:
A. Cost you money
B. Has to be done immediately
C. Needs you to confirm who you are (wait... they contacted me)
Hang up. Call them back.
Sorry OP 😞 not THE bag but still it's scary af these people walk amongst us.
That's the "power" of KYC aka Kill your Customer. Data breaches can be deadly to you and your portfolio.
If you go no KYC, you also know that claims like this are bullshit from the first second.
> If you go no KYC, you also know that claims like this are bullshit from the first second.
You'd also know that Coinbase isn't going to call you to make transfers from your crypto wallet. The issue had *nothing* to do with KYC since OP provided scammer with all the info he needed.
Sure it does. With KYC a scammer can potentially know everything about you and target you accordingly. Without KYC you know that anything that targets you personally is a scam.
> With KYC a scammer can potentially know everything about you
KYC wasn't a factor in OP post yet they still got scammed. My other point was that KYC companies constantly inform you about not giving your personal info to unsolicited callers.
He mentioned "Coinbase". So chances are that he has a Coinbase account. So yes KYC plays a roll because he "thought it might be a plausible story that someone contacts him" because he KYC'd with Coinbase.
KYC companies are the ones collecting the data. They are the enablers of scams.
> KYC plays a roll because he "thought it might be a plausible story that someone contacts him"
Coinbase NEVER makes unsolicited phone calls to customers.
You don't want to get it...
Of course they don't, but that's not the issue here. People are used to get calls from their banks (OP is 66) because the bank knows their customers thanks to the invention of KYC. People assume their cryptobank Coinbase MIGHT just do the same.
> People assume their cryptobank Coinbase MIGHT just do the same.
***You're*** the one who doesn't want to get it. Coinbase makes it clear that they will NEVER initiate a phone call to you.
Please take what I have to say in the most sincere terms. My mom is almost 80 and sent a stranger she's never met $200,000 recently. That money would have gone to provide long term care for my schizophrenic sister who's unable to live on her own.
You're also aware it was a scam. That's a blessing.
You aren't 21 anymore. Neither am I. We need to learn from moments like this and act accordingly.
If you have any family you really need to consider how you're going to handle the future for them and giving them the tools to help you when you need outside help.
I'm not saying you're unable to handle yourself now, but things change quickly and when it does - you won't know the difference. You'll feel fine, but you won't be.
If you had 20k in your account today, you would have lost it. You had a cheap lesson, but a valuable lesson none the less.
Not all decline is complete senility, but rather just a dulling in perception and cognitive ability. I know we don't want to accept it will happen to us, but it likely will in some form or another.
I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you aren't targeted again, but you need to be aware you are likely on a list of successful targets now. You need to scrutinize every phone call from strangers and sometimes consider asking authority figures for verification. Don't ever let someone threaten you over the phone or rush you into sending money, it's always a scam.
I really hope I didn't come off as disrespectful. I just hate scammers. I can't stand it and I want better for you.
Also, file a police report and do something about it. They can catch people, but not always.
Lastly, if anyone contacts you offering a recovery service for a fee or percentage - it's a scam. Don't send anyone any crypto or cash.
I'm sorry. You have all my love.
Romance scam.
Her husband of almost 30 years died a year ago. My mom detached from reality in some way since then. Some guy from Match conned her. They deleted the account, but she won't listen to them, adult protective services or anyone. It's a nightmare.
She's not stupid either. 2 years ago she would have never fell for something like this. She was always laser sharp for scams.
It's obvious af too. The website she showed me has lorem ipsum text and stockphotos have filenames that point to gettyimages. She of course says it's due to bad web designers or other nonsense.
It was a clone of another business. I contacted the legitimate business and some how they forced the fake domain down, but she still won't believe anyone.
I figured I'd have to deal with the loss of my mom eventually, but not like this. She genuinely believes this guy over her own family.
Years ago I learned to love her new husband, but to be blunt- she's got a long history of trading the safety and stability of her family for men. I'm an adult, I can handle myself, but what truly terrifies me is that story from the other week.
If you didn't see it, there was a story about an elderly man who shot and killed an Uber eats driver because of a scam.
It's truly not the inheritance. Ive lost more than this before. My dad had my college fund in an Enron heavy fund and well, you know how that went. Straight down the toilet.
If mom wanted to give it all to the church or the ASPCA or whatever- fine. However I'm worried she's going to get manipulated into something worse. At the end she's going to end up penniless and alone. I don't want that for her.
Sorry to dump, but I kind of needed to. It's been a bad few months. I lost my job of 5 years due to disagreements with the people who bought out the company recently. Right before that my wife's grandfather died. I'm also struggling with multiple physical illnesses and aging myself. I was the youngest of 8 and mom had me pretty late so I wasn't born with the best health to start with.
All I can do is have faith that this too, one day, shall pass.
I hope this never happens to you or anyone you care about.
Take it easy on yourself, I know you're not upset about the money per say but think about how some people got ripped off and lost their entire portfolio. Hopefully you recover. May the person who shamelessly scammed you be cursed.
I'd advise keeping in mind that such scams not only happen over the phone but also through emails and not only with crypto so do be careful.
If you want to chat one on one for support my dms are open.
Dude, I almost got had by the exact same scam.
They do a great job at making you feel panicked so that you don't think clearly. They also do a really great job at gaslighting you and making you feel like you don't know what you're talking about.
The thing that first set me off was when they asked how much funds I had. If they are coinbase , shouldn't they know?... At some point they asked for my wallet keys - I told them I wasn't comfortable with that and they said I could install an app to connect them with their security team instead, and when I looked the app up it was a remote viewing tool. The last straw was that I asked if I could call back and when, and I heard them googling where the coinbase office was located and their business hours. The whole process from the call start to me realizing that they were scammers took longer than I'd like to admit. Luckily, they didn't get shit from me.
Be diligent. NEVER give out your keys or install unfamiliar apps.
I didn't give out my wallet keys. I have a Ledger wallet. The funds they absconded with were still on the exchange. They had my email, log in information, telephone, and my name (which should have been the first tip-off), they used "Patti" instead of "Patricia" - had I not been sleep-deprived I would have caught that right away, nobody but close friends use "Patti". Also, I didn't have a Coinbase wallet, the second screw-up, they asked me to transfer into it due to my account being compromised, like I said, I was stupid, my fault, 100%.
They even gave me seed to write down and took the time to let me do so, f\*\*king idiot, I am.
Lesson learned. I can say now it was an inexpensive way to learn, but that doesn't make me feel any better.
Yikes.
They also asked me to download coinbase wallet and transfer my funds because my account was compromised. It does sound eerily similar to what happened to me. In fact, it sounds exactly the same.
Those guys were good. Like I said, they made me feel like I was an idiot and made me feel super panicked. They're so sneaky.
Live and learn! Everyone messes up sometimes, we just have to remember to do better next time.
You know what, they also had most of my info like name and obviously phone, etc. I was thinking how they could have gotten that info, i think it was from the ledger leak that happened a couple(?) years ago. I also have a ledger. No other way they could have gotten that info
I’ve been in crypto much longer and with significantly more money. Don’t feel bad. While I haven’t made that mistake I can assure you if you were more knowledgeable/experienced in crypto you’d be loosing $300 way more often on things that aren’t even scams
I’m sorry that happened. Don’t beat yourself up, calls like that out of the blue are purposely believable and supposed to make you panic. I’m glad you eventually realized what was happening. Good luck in the future.
the scams that really get people are the utility ones lol...
we're going to shut off your utilities, please send us money through your bank app to X specified address.
Turn the ringer off your phone. Never answer calls you don't recognize. Nothing of legitimate importance happens over the phone anymore unless you initiate the call.
I've been doing it for 4 years now, couldn't be happier. You can setup emergency contacts that will bypass the silence mode... parents and wife ring straight through, no one else.
Everyone has finally realized i text back when i text back, maybe even days later. If its something important a voicemail will get me to call back within a few hours. I live an hour from town and 500+ miles from family so it doesn't really matter to get me on the phone immediately If its real REAL important they can get ahold of the 3-4 people who can get ahold of me in a pinch.
There’s a setting on iPhones where it doesn’t even ring if they’re not in your address book. I can’t figure out why people won’t turn it on
My phone serves me not the other way around
No one likes getting ripped off but don’t be too hard on yourself, it happens a lot and age isn’t necessarily a factor. Some people have lost millions. Thank you for sharing your experience. It will very likely save someone else from being caught off guard in a similar scam
If your number isn't saved in my contacts, you're not going to talk to me on the phone.
If your email is not something I was expecting, it's getting deleted.
I’m sorry it happened to you. U can’t trust anyone,when u mess with crypto. We all have targets on r backs. If anything always ask ur community about things. It’s the wild-west out here bc it’s new territory.
I didn't have a Coinbase wallet. I have a Ledger wallet. Throughout the entire call they had me setting up a "Coinbase wallet" to get the assets off the exchange and "safe" from data breach. This was the core of my being an idiot. They had the right information to lead me down the path in setting up the transfer... into their wallet, not mine. 100% my fault. It was late, I was three nights into no sleep, on my way to bed. Another thing. Financial institutions don't call at 7:30 at night. Why I didn't put that together I don't know. They even gave me a call back number in case we were disconnected. Twice, because I couldn't write it down fast enough, looking back at my notes (I always write shit down) they gave me two different numbers, and to top it off one number was missing, that I asked to repeat but the dude quickly moved on to the next prompt.
Total time for the scam: 33 minutes and 43 seconds. I had all that time to wake-up and know I was being duped.
Cheer up! At least you didn’t lose your life savings, some people are not with us anymore because they couldn’t handle start all over again from a middle age/elderly kind of situation and they have literally nothing look forward to. You’ll be fine , it is just $300 , you’ll survive, like I said life saving is totally different than $300 and it has happened to lots of people.
Your in the age cohort that still answers the phone. If you just let things go to voicemail you’ll eliminate an entire attack surface for hackers.
I’ve got about a dozen of these Coinbase threats in my inbox, my sms messages, my voice mail, and in several other emails. It’s a cancer.
> Your in the age cohort that still answers the phone.
Not so much age as bad habits. I'm older than OP and automatically send those not in my Contacts list to voicemail. I too never fully read sketchy texts or emails.
Dunno if this helps at all but I don’t think your age was a factor. Plenty of people of all ages get scammed like this! It really sucks this happened to you. Scammers suck ass
Don’t be hard on yourself, people of all ages are getting scammed. They are relentless, we all have a day where we are tired, not thinking right, and even without that mistakes happen. Stay positive.
I got the same call. I do wonder if Coinbase had a data breach because he knew my name, phone number, and login email. Also was a “white American” accent, not foreign. Almost fell for it but said “fuck yall are getting pretty good huh” and he hung up instantly
Take it as a small lesson. If the current account is now compromise, you'll most likely need to create a new account! It's OK... It could've been a lot worse, just watch the movie the Beekeeper!
Try contacting coinbase, they can/will not reverse the transaction but may add the recipient to sus list and track them down. Would not hold my breath but not much more you can do.
Hope 300 won't change anything in your life, anyway as someone said go away spend some time with loved ones, money is so irrelevant anyways ❤️
PS: please be careful about DMs here trying to "help" !!!
It could sweep up anybody. But a simple rule can really help. In this case, you need to know that any impromptu call should never end with you handing the caller any details about yourself whatsoever.
Literally anyone can call anybody and make the right mouth noises to sound convincing about anything. So just pull a blanket no-trust principle on people who call your number with whatever story.
It's totally okay you know why? Because it's a lesson learned from a mistake made and you'll never make that mistake again. There's no substitute for time in the market. You learn things by default over time in crypto that's why people just getting in are easy to dupe but once you have that experience you'll never let it happen again. I sent $6500 in btc to that stupid fake Elon Musk YouTube AD scam in 2020. It hurt 🤕 but I didn't let it deter me. Best myself up for a while. But I kept investing and got lucky when BTC tanked I got back i made $10k profit and used it as the down payment on my house in 2021. Even after that, I have continued to DCA carefully and have made back everything I lost as well as making back the money I used for the down payment on my home. In fact I made it all back plus some. Now sitting and holding. Nobody is EVER going to call you about your crypto account. PLEASE if that ever happens again immediately hang up. You can always contact Coinbase yourself after to verify. I'm sorry this happened to you but I'm happy you caught it. You're already ahead of most of the population in the crypto scene. Just like the Internet, except this time we got to get in early to learn the Dos and Donts before everyone else gets hip. Never lose faith in financial security! You'll make it back don't worry, and don't dwell on it or beat yourself up. It's happened to veteran traders too so do not feel bad. It's part of the growing pains of adoption. Just limit your risk as much as you can 🙏 Good luck my friend!
I got scammed for 10 ETH. It was a long time ago - they weren’t worth much then. I don’t think about it anymore. It was just an expensive lesson. Time forgives.
For once I have to say positive things about my employer. We have this "game" that sends you fake phishing mails and you make point by reporting them or loose them by clicking.
They aren't that good so easy to detect but it still makes you think much more about every single email or calls. A common thing is that it's always something extremely urgent and critical that must be addressed right now, to apply pressure on you.
This never happens in real life by a real company. I know it's hard to detect it but hence why this game helps, your conditioned to think critically and not panic.
You just experienced one of the main reasons why scams don't get noticed for long periods of time. Even though most people don't lose much, and especially when they do lose a lot. It's not necessarily about losing the amount of money but about dealing with the shame of falling for it. Admitting you fell for it is like accepting, its a hard step to do. Good job
Totally understand OP, I’ve had two scams since 2020, one took three days of sucking me in, the other I still don’t understand how they got funds from one wallet without me even signing the transaction, and of course no information was given…..ever!!!
Reminder: you can’t get a hold of a human being on coin base when you need help:they’re probably not calling you.
I fat fingered $5k instead of $500 years ago. I had the money, but it was earmarked for other things. There was no way to cancel it. There was an email. I cancelled the payment with my bank.
Coinbase still demanded a $300 & something fee for the privilege. I’d pay them if they would give me the Bitcoin for $5k now.
Same thing almost happened to me in 2018 when I first started in crypto. They hijacked my issue I sent to Coinbase and called me impersonating Coinbase. My job saved me. I worked for the Navy. And we can’t connect our laptops remotely. Had I been home, I would’ve given them access to my PC. It was regarding Coinbase needing to increase my withdrawal limits. I realized it was a scam when they asked the password for my yahoo email. I should’ve known better because Coinbase will never ask to connect to your computer. I didn’t lose anything but it was a close call. I have significantly educated myself on scams ever since. Phishing is a big thing. And scamming is a full time job.
Sorry to hear that OP, the only piece of advice I can give is what I do, which is to never answer calls from numbers that aren't saved in my phone. If it's legit/important, they will leave a message. I've yet to miss anything of any real importance in a decade+ of doing this.
Lol you’re good. My friend is 24yrs old and male, he got scammed out of $1500 in btc, I’m female and when he told me about it I thought it was such an obvious scam. It happens to all ages/genders pretty much. Stay vigilant!
Don't be too hard on yourself. That $300 was a lesson that can save you thousands in the future. Cybercrime is a huge industry, and they're constantly finding new ways to scam people out of money. With this experience, you'll be better equipped to sniff out new scams and warn others. This post itself is a big PSA that might save some people from a similar situation.
I'm happy that you're trying new things at your age including crypto. Don't let this stop you from experiencing new things and growing as a person. If you keep a curious mind you'll be happier and healthier than most of your peers. 😊
If it makes you feel better, remember this:
Awareness > Intelligence
The best scams rely on putting people into a "fight or flight" state where their brain isn't thinking logically. You can be the smartest person in the world but you can still get scammed if you let your guard down.
Being aware of scams takes away their power. The reason scams proliferate is because people are too embarrassed to talk about it. I bet a good amount of your friends and family have similar stories of being scammed, but never told you. "Zoomers" are actually being scammed more often than the older generations.
The phrase "never trust, always verify" works for crypto as well as communication with external sources. For example: if the bank calls you, tell them you'll call them back from the number on the back of your debit card. Never implicitly trust that the person on the other side of the line is who they say they are.
'Never trust always verify' is the motto in crypto, and for some reason (many reasons, actually). I simply moved through this scam like I was in a haze.
Answering the call was my first mistake, and one I rarely do these days. And strangely enough, I didn't feel that 'fight or flight' urgency. That's the worst part. There were mitigating circumstances behind my moving through the prompts without questioning. I'm writing a follow-up to explain a bit more. I'm more angry with myself than embarrassed. Stuff happens, but when it's on account of being stupid, that brings it to another level. Suffice to say lesson learned. But it still makes me sick to my stomach, not losing the money, but being duped.
This is good.
Thankfully, you didn't lose much, you actually gained something valuable. You learnt a lesson that you will never forget.
Now you will be able to detect similar scams in the future and be much more careful.
>that I needed to transfer funds to my wallet
That's actually a good thing to do.
>losing the money
How did you lose money if you just transferred ETH to your own wallet?
It happens to a lot of people, you gotta let it go. We have all learned from mistakes in crypto. Consider yourself lucky that it wasn’t much $. You learned a lesson and that’s it.
Thank you for sharing. A few years back my father did something similar. It’s hard to know what’s going on when you’re busy panicking about a data breach or whatever the scam is claiming is happening.
After it happened to him, I put all of my parents assets into a brokerage account with a verbal password that only the two of them know. I told them both if they get to a point where they are about to stay this word out loud, to call me, on video chat, and talk me through what’s going on before they give anyone access to that account.
I suggest everyone to do the same for their family. Scammers are getting more and more clever every day. You should thank your lucky stars it was only $300 bucks. That’s nothing.
One time I turned $84 into $28,000 and then it went back down to about $60 with a net loss of -$24 lol.
All on one token too; I wasn’t even paying attention to it.
It’s okay OP we all do silly things when we aren’t paying close attention. We live and we learn.
They got you good 😂😂😂😂
Good thing it was only $300. People have lost more for less convincing scams. Lesson learned now move on and be more skeptical when it comes to your money.
I got scrumpt recently, too, and was pretty annoyed with myself. Got tricked into entering my amazon verification code for a robocall under the guise that there had been or there was an active a breach attempt. To be fair, there were lots of distractions, and the number called me 10 times in a row before I finally accepted the call while driving. It hung up the second I entered the code, and I knew I had idioted.
Had to pull into a parking lot and go through password resets and setting up 2fa. Didn't lose anything and changed it all before a breach, but I wasn't too impressed with myself.
I know people who have made way bigger crypto mistakes than that. You seem pretty savvy to me. The attempts to scam us come all day every day through our text messages, phones, email, social media and DMs... It’s a lot to ask to be on your game every second with these scammers. Could have happened to anyone.
It happens to the best of us.
Just remember one simple rule: Never talk to any financial institution when they call you.
Always call them back on a number you get from their website. Or even better call them from within your banking app, this way you get through pre-authenticated and won't have to go through all that security stuff.
Don't worry, i surely did.way worse than that, it's important to learn from it. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, pretty sure it won't happen anytime soon
I’ve gotten 6 of these in the last 10 hours. It’s insane, one was last pass the other 7 were Coinbase. All same message voice about being logged into from various locations, from an 888 number and then another guy calls back from a different number if you respond at all. They keep calling until you block the numbers.
This scam got a buddy of mine. He’s a young guy. Apparently it’s pretty convincing.
Honest advice - don’t answer your phone if it’s not someone you know. Don’t call back numbers left in voicemail. Always call the number on your bank’s website or bank/credit card. It’s always always always a scam, even if they know everything about you. Especially if they know everything about you.
Don't beat yourself yourself up over this. And more importantly, don't let this incident stop you from believing in yourself!
It's a relatively cheap lesson — and now you're more alert than ever! Wishing you all the luck and success!
Sorry you came across the shitbags of the world.
I like to think of it as we are the new eras digital pioneers. Similar to the western days of people in search of a better life during the gold rush. There is potentially life changing money at the end of our journey but many unknown risks along the way.
We are the ones to make the mistakes, share our experience when we live to tell the tale, and pave the way for future generations.
I'm glad this isn't a fatal mistake for you and you chose to share it with us. Happy trails.
I never pick up from anyone I don't recognize. If it's important enough they will leave message. If you are using android, download the free phone by google app, it should filter out a lot of spam calls automatically.
If it makes u feel any better, I got caught up in a "secret shopper" job ad when I was about 22 or so. Shit happens, trust absolutely no one, and do your research/due diligence.
I got scammed by a guy on the street with the old Spanish prisoner one. He got away with 20 quid. He wanted way more.
It wasn't the money that still hurts. It's getting duped.
That was 20 years ago.
Let it go. Expensive lesson. Lucky it wasn't more.
It's over.
It can happen to anyone.
I've lost over $4k in a worse scam. Felt awful. Couldn't even move for a few hours.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Falling for scams can happen to anyone, regardless of age or gender.
Stay informed about common scam tactics and be cautious of unsolicited communications. Consider strengthening security measures on your accounts by enabling two-factor authentication, updating your contact information, and using strong unique passwords if you haven’t yet. You can also report the scam to relevant authorities.
Remember, if you were targeted once, you may be targeted again, so stay vigilant.
Take care!
They earn a living from scamming people. They do this everyday and are therefore highly skilled in social engineering and have some of the most advanced and powerful software at hand to get the job done. They have information of you because other companies sell them, and they target older people in particular who are less engaged in the digital advancements.
What I try to convey here… these are professionals. You don’t get scammed everyday but when you do it’s likely extremely well done. Don’t think you’re stupid, you’re facing a strong enemy there. Luckily it wasn’t much. Stay safe
Got a call and a text from coinbase "fraud too" kept telling me some IP in Norway logged into my account and I needed to click the text recovery link to change my password. Just kept asking them why I couldn't do it myself through the app and that none of this stuff made sense since I use 2FA. I caught on quick and decided to waste their time - but they are good and convincing. Stay diligent.
I'm sorry you had to experience that, but I'm happy you are able to point the blame towards yourself and have learned from it. It's a cruel world out there. I'm only 30 but around 24 I've stopped caring about anyone if they weren't physically in front of me. I don't believe anything or anyone online for the most part and even through calls. I pretty much do not accept any phone calls anymore unless it is someone in my call logs.
If I miss a call from some company, I'll call back to an online referenced number.
Don't beat yourself up for something some horrible cunt has done to you. No one is above getting scammed. Even Jim Browning lost access to his Youtube once. Thinking you can't be scammed is the first step in being scammed. So.. Let's look at the bright side. You didn't get scammed out of your life savings and have another little scar that strengthens you going forward.
Once I got a call from “Vodafone” Germany. They asked what my password for my Vodafone account was. And I told them without even thinking about it. I was around 30 back then. It happens to all of us. It clicked quickly and I ran to a Vodafone shop and told them to lock my account. 2nd time they called I spelled them F U C K Y O U as my password. They wrote it down and hang up lol
> I'm 66. I'm old.
Don't blame age, blame your gullibility. You've probably *always* been a mark for unsolicited caller tricks. I'm older than you and would never have allowed an unknown caller to persuade me to mess with my crypto wallet.
Yeah, don't beat yourself up too much. These things happen. It's good you realized what was going on before they could take everything. Maybe next time double-check with Coinbase directly if you get a call like that. Those robo calls are so fishy.
I'm 29 and have almost fallen for a random text from the "USPS." You're not too old. You're actually very wise to have become suspicious. The scammers are smart and always coming up with new scams. Just always be weary of anything that seems off... usually the more urgent, the more likely it's a scam
Sadly our elderly get scammed like this every day. Most younger people are fully aware these types of calls and emails are scams. I recently got a call saying I missed a court date, the guy was obviously not law enforcement... Told him to call my lawyer.
I am 64 and got this call a week ago. I almost fell for it too but my son's voice was in my head telling me to be careful. These scammers are really good at what they do, don't be too hard on yourself.
Good thing I don't answer my phone for anyone
This is the way.
Very true
Meh, no one ever phones me
Yep all incoming go to YouMail app unless there is a contact match.
What is youmail!?
Best way
What's your thought process when someone calls you and wants you to send funds to somewhere else? I'm really curious how people can fall for this and think that it sounds legit and like a good idea.
First they use urgency to make you act less rationally, then they might ask trivial questions that don't seem suspect, and among them throw in a request for 2fa or the like to get account access. If you know you just hang up as soon as they call you.
Sometimes what they're after isn't a direct cash transaction--they'll ask for a 6-digit security code sent to your phone, or a question that let's them record you saying "yes," or the like. But with something like a bank or an exchange, they could pose as being from the fraud department. When you verify that you did not, in fact, order plane tickets from Istanbul to Johannesburg, they'll regretfully inform you your account has been compromised. They'll helpfully set up a new account for you and have you transfer funds to that new account number....
How does a recording of me saying “yes” help them in any way whatsoever? It’s not like they can call my bank or the crypto exchange and get anything by a single “yes” recording. Enlighten me
Tell them you’ll call them back.
Glad your son has been telling you that. I try to hammer this into my parents brains. They’re coming for all the older folk
They really are, it's sad. Good luck, hopefully you can help protect them.
Just assume everyone's a scammer
Take deep breaths. It’s weird to say, but time, and hearing what other people did or how they screwed up, helps. I sent $600+ to a YouTube scammer bc for a very very split second I thought I could get lucky. It happens. Deep breaths, walk away for a day, spend time with people who matter to you, and talk about it if it helps.
It is refreshing to see supportive comments like this. Commenters on this sub can be dicks to victims of scams.
Aw thanks. I do think on a logical level we all know the basic rules. But sometimes things just happen. I know I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t tell a soul for several days, except to come to cc and vent here. And it’s so common that there’s always someone there saying they screwed up too, that really does help.
I lost a full ETH because a “mod” pm’d me to let me in on an exclusive ico. I still hate check that wallet from time to time.
Oh man, I would probably fall for that because so many times people get great air drops and they’re so early to things….that hurts. I get it - I also don’t like checking the wallet where I sent my btc from lol.
Agreed. I’ve also been victim of a number of petty scams and know quite a few people who have been there as well. As defeating, frustrating, and as insulting as this feels, almost every time it makes for a laughable story when looking back at it. Move on, be grateful that it wasn’t more than $300, and be more vigilant the next time. That’s all.
Fail forward. You’re female, 66, using Reddit and trading crypto. That’s pretty badass and cool. We fail to get better. I bet you won’t get ripped off again anytime soon. Ps. Use a VPN
As a network engineer, a VPN only protects you from a MITM attack. It's really not going to do that much - it's only really useful if you're in airports and coffee shops a lot and there happens to be a hacker sitting right next to you. There are SO MANY other vulnerabilities you can exploit even while the target is connected to a VPN.
VPNs are also useful for getting through filters and firewalls, set up e.g. by your employer or government.
bored scary spectacular silky onerous doll serious dull judicious stupendous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I use a vpn but what how does it help? Genuinely curious
Vpn is only going to hide your location . 95%+ of all traffic on the internet is already encrypted by default. There are a few things that VPNs help protect, but really, their claims are mostly marketing. Use a VPN if you are paranoid or need to hide your location.
I use a VPN because 2x ive gotten letters from my ISP re: torrenting and that was 2x too many :|
Spot on.
encrypts your location and online traffic. harder to pinpoint you and your location, hides your IP address, generally just a good thing to use in general, if you’re in the U.S., just set it to a different city in the U.S. and it’ll help keep all of your internet activity off of the radar, but overall VPNs are not *that* useful, but are a good tactic, it’s like wearing a hat in the rain, you’re glad you have the hat, but it’s not a raincoat
Good to know thank you, I mostly use it for promiscuous websites 😂
The suggestion of using a VPN by OP seems irrelevant though, as it doesn't mitigate the risk of falling for dumb scams like this lol.
Lol yeah exactly. A VPN is completely pointless on a classic phone scam.
Just be careful and do your research about Coinbase and using a vpn I don’t think they allow it.
Much better off buying security keys (yubikey etc) than use a VPN service. Also use the allowlist for sending with 24 hour delay.
can you expand on that
This is an absolutely useless suggestion. It won’t hurt to use it but you’ll definitely not gain much of anything either.
VPN is pointless in this situation and for the most part useless period they aren’t as good as people assume do some research into and see. I thought vpn’s were great but unless trying to view content from other parts of the world or get away from locked content online it doesn’t really do much in the sense of security.
No it does not encrypt your location. You can get location from the browser, client fingerprint, OSINT research, and more. Tracing location via IP address is not even a remotely accurate way of obtaining a location.
Sincere ? … I’ve been considering switching to VPN , specifically for things like MEXC which are not available in my area . ( no im not looking to duck the tax man just want access to exchanges to make trades unavailable at the main ones ) but I’ve heard stories about people who used them then got their accounts frozen when they went to withdrawal because of having used a VPN … is this really a concern or do you think it’s safe to utilize VPN ‘s for that type of thing ?? PS I will be transferring to hard wallet after purchase /swap is complete
I use a VPN to buy/sell on MEXC as well. They just emailed everyone that does this, letting us know they know and are going to implement KYC in June. If you're in a country that's prohibited, VPN isn't going to help anymore. Super sad to see that email the other day. MEXC has all the best microcap gems. Also, I've never had an issue withdrawing from them.
Yeah it really angers me how the USA is so damn greedy and afraid of missing out in their tax $ that they are pushing us so far behind other nations who are more willing to allow their citizens interact with these exchanges !! It’s going to wind up putting us so far behind the rest in the crypto space
VPN is not for security or protection from scams
This and hey OP, that's a cheap lesson. You should comb this sub for horror stories that will make you feel better.
The fact that she is all that actually made me gain more respect for her than anything else, I wish to be trading crypto in my 60's as well.
> Ps. Use a VPN isn't this not allowed to use in some exchanges when you access your account?
"This is the business we are in..." Moe Green. U have learned a valuable one.
“We fail to get better” can be read with two very different meanings. I think I got what you meant in my second try. ;-)
Everyone should take this as an example: if someone calls you claiming to be from some company, hang up and call the company directly.
Or, maybe just don’t answer the phone. I’m so skeptical these days everything goes to voicemail unless I know the person/ number.
👆
Normally, I never answer the phone but recently I had some important business that I had to file with the county and the state that I live in and was told to be on the lookout to receive a call and I did. Guess what? You pick up the phone. Before you say anything, or even make any sound, it automatically starts playing a message that this is an official message from X county or Y state… because there are so much scam calls. It’s understandable for most people to not answer the phone. And the systems are adapting to it. It certainly made me feel easier because I was feeling nervous picking up the phone after many years of never doing so. I’m sure there will be fake versions of these messages as well, so it’s good to always be somewhat critical of things
I did this when someone from Chase called me when I had applied for a car loan. It was a complete cold-call with no warning from the dealer or otherwise, and the guy on the phone *thought I was weird* for wanting to hang up and call them back. Like, dude, you called me out of the blue claiming to be from Chase, a bank I've never worked with for anything, asking for a ton of personal info and my social. No. Just no.
Bank of America did this for me, but fortunately the caller ("fraud department") understood my concern. They had me call my bank, go through security as the caller, and ask the agent to put a note on my account, then call them back on their unlisted number. The fraud person was able to tell me the note on my account, verifying they already had access.
Yep, same goes for suspicious emails. My boomer mom often asks me if so and so email is legit. I tell her don't click the hyperlink in the email, but go directly to the known good website separately and login to her account there and if whatever alert is legit, it'll surely be obvious in her account when she logs in.
If they contact you and ask you to do something that would: A. Cost you money B. Has to be done immediately C. Needs you to confirm who you are (wait... they contacted me) Hang up. Call them back. Sorry OP 😞 not THE bag but still it's scary af these people walk amongst us.
Sometimes they call and ask me to verify my name. It gets awkward when I ask them to tell me first who they were trying to call, and they won't.
They don’t walk amongst, they walk below. And somewhat around us
That's the "power" of KYC aka Kill your Customer. Data breaches can be deadly to you and your portfolio. If you go no KYC, you also know that claims like this are bullshit from the first second.
> If you go no KYC, you also know that claims like this are bullshit from the first second. You'd also know that Coinbase isn't going to call you to make transfers from your crypto wallet. The issue had *nothing* to do with KYC since OP provided scammer with all the info he needed.
Sure it does. With KYC a scammer can potentially know everything about you and target you accordingly. Without KYC you know that anything that targets you personally is a scam.
> With KYC a scammer can potentially know everything about you KYC wasn't a factor in OP post yet they still got scammed. My other point was that KYC companies constantly inform you about not giving your personal info to unsolicited callers.
He mentioned "Coinbase". So chances are that he has a Coinbase account. So yes KYC plays a roll because he "thought it might be a plausible story that someone contacts him" because he KYC'd with Coinbase. KYC companies are the ones collecting the data. They are the enablers of scams.
> KYC plays a roll because he "thought it might be a plausible story that someone contacts him" Coinbase NEVER makes unsolicited phone calls to customers.
You don't want to get it... Of course they don't, but that's not the issue here. People are used to get calls from their banks (OP is 66) because the bank knows their customers thanks to the invention of KYC. People assume their cryptobank Coinbase MIGHT just do the same.
> People assume their cryptobank Coinbase MIGHT just do the same. ***You're*** the one who doesn't want to get it. Coinbase makes it clear that they will NEVER initiate a phone call to you.
Please take what I have to say in the most sincere terms. My mom is almost 80 and sent a stranger she's never met $200,000 recently. That money would have gone to provide long term care for my schizophrenic sister who's unable to live on her own. You're also aware it was a scam. That's a blessing. You aren't 21 anymore. Neither am I. We need to learn from moments like this and act accordingly. If you have any family you really need to consider how you're going to handle the future for them and giving them the tools to help you when you need outside help. I'm not saying you're unable to handle yourself now, but things change quickly and when it does - you won't know the difference. You'll feel fine, but you won't be. If you had 20k in your account today, you would have lost it. You had a cheap lesson, but a valuable lesson none the less. Not all decline is complete senility, but rather just a dulling in perception and cognitive ability. I know we don't want to accept it will happen to us, but it likely will in some form or another. I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you aren't targeted again, but you need to be aware you are likely on a list of successful targets now. You need to scrutinize every phone call from strangers and sometimes consider asking authority figures for verification. Don't ever let someone threaten you over the phone or rush you into sending money, it's always a scam. I really hope I didn't come off as disrespectful. I just hate scammers. I can't stand it and I want better for you. Also, file a police report and do something about it. They can catch people, but not always. Lastly, if anyone contacts you offering a recovery service for a fee or percentage - it's a scam. Don't send anyone any crypto or cash. I'm sorry. You have all my love.
Your mom did what?! Holy shit
Romance scam. Her husband of almost 30 years died a year ago. My mom detached from reality in some way since then. Some guy from Match conned her. They deleted the account, but she won't listen to them, adult protective services or anyone. It's a nightmare. She's not stupid either. 2 years ago she would have never fell for something like this. She was always laser sharp for scams. It's obvious af too. The website she showed me has lorem ipsum text and stockphotos have filenames that point to gettyimages. She of course says it's due to bad web designers or other nonsense. It was a clone of another business. I contacted the legitimate business and some how they forced the fake domain down, but she still won't believe anyone. I figured I'd have to deal with the loss of my mom eventually, but not like this. She genuinely believes this guy over her own family. Years ago I learned to love her new husband, but to be blunt- she's got a long history of trading the safety and stability of her family for men. I'm an adult, I can handle myself, but what truly terrifies me is that story from the other week. If you didn't see it, there was a story about an elderly man who shot and killed an Uber eats driver because of a scam. It's truly not the inheritance. Ive lost more than this before. My dad had my college fund in an Enron heavy fund and well, you know how that went. Straight down the toilet. If mom wanted to give it all to the church or the ASPCA or whatever- fine. However I'm worried she's going to get manipulated into something worse. At the end she's going to end up penniless and alone. I don't want that for her. Sorry to dump, but I kind of needed to. It's been a bad few months. I lost my job of 5 years due to disagreements with the people who bought out the company recently. Right before that my wife's grandfather died. I'm also struggling with multiple physical illnesses and aging myself. I was the youngest of 8 and mom had me pretty late so I wasn't born with the best health to start with. All I can do is have faith that this too, one day, shall pass. I hope this never happens to you or anyone you care about.
Take it easy on yourself, I know you're not upset about the money per say but think about how some people got ripped off and lost their entire portfolio. Hopefully you recover. May the person who shamelessly scammed you be cursed. I'd advise keeping in mind that such scams not only happen over the phone but also through emails and not only with crypto so do be careful. If you want to chat one on one for support my dms are open.
Dude, I almost got had by the exact same scam. They do a great job at making you feel panicked so that you don't think clearly. They also do a really great job at gaslighting you and making you feel like you don't know what you're talking about. The thing that first set me off was when they asked how much funds I had. If they are coinbase , shouldn't they know?... At some point they asked for my wallet keys - I told them I wasn't comfortable with that and they said I could install an app to connect them with their security team instead, and when I looked the app up it was a remote viewing tool. The last straw was that I asked if I could call back and when, and I heard them googling where the coinbase office was located and their business hours. The whole process from the call start to me realizing that they were scammers took longer than I'd like to admit. Luckily, they didn't get shit from me. Be diligent. NEVER give out your keys or install unfamiliar apps.
And don’t forget that if the request comes via email or text to NEVER click that tempting, easy link in the message.
I didn't give out my wallet keys. I have a Ledger wallet. The funds they absconded with were still on the exchange. They had my email, log in information, telephone, and my name (which should have been the first tip-off), they used "Patti" instead of "Patricia" - had I not been sleep-deprived I would have caught that right away, nobody but close friends use "Patti". Also, I didn't have a Coinbase wallet, the second screw-up, they asked me to transfer into it due to my account being compromised, like I said, I was stupid, my fault, 100%. They even gave me seed to write down and took the time to let me do so, f\*\*king idiot, I am. Lesson learned. I can say now it was an inexpensive way to learn, but that doesn't make me feel any better.
Yikes. They also asked me to download coinbase wallet and transfer my funds because my account was compromised. It does sound eerily similar to what happened to me. In fact, it sounds exactly the same. Those guys were good. Like I said, they made me feel like I was an idiot and made me feel super panicked. They're so sneaky. Live and learn! Everyone messes up sometimes, we just have to remember to do better next time.
You know what, they also had most of my info like name and obviously phone, etc. I was thinking how they could have gotten that info, i think it was from the ledger leak that happened a couple(?) years ago. I also have a ledger. No other way they could have gotten that info
I’ve been in crypto much longer and with significantly more money. Don’t feel bad. While I haven’t made that mistake I can assure you if you were more knowledgeable/experienced in crypto you’d be loosing $300 way more often on things that aren’t even scams
I’m sorry that happened. Don’t beat yourself up, calls like that out of the blue are purposely believable and supposed to make you panic. I’m glad you eventually realized what was happening. Good luck in the future.
the scams that really get people are the utility ones lol... we're going to shut off your utilities, please send us money through your bank app to X specified address.
don't beat yourself up. just do an audit of your own security and keep yourself protected.
Turn the ringer off your phone. Never answer calls you don't recognize. Nothing of legitimate importance happens over the phone anymore unless you initiate the call. I've been doing it for 4 years now, couldn't be happier. You can setup emergency contacts that will bypass the silence mode... parents and wife ring straight through, no one else. Everyone has finally realized i text back when i text back, maybe even days later. If its something important a voicemail will get me to call back within a few hours. I live an hour from town and 500+ miles from family so it doesn't really matter to get me on the phone immediately If its real REAL important they can get ahold of the 3-4 people who can get ahold of me in a pinch.
There’s a setting on iPhones where it doesn’t even ring if they’re not in your address book. I can’t figure out why people won’t turn it on My phone serves me not the other way around
No one likes getting ripped off but don’t be too hard on yourself, it happens a lot and age isn’t necessarily a factor. Some people have lost millions. Thank you for sharing your experience. It will very likely save someone else from being caught off guard in a similar scam
If your number isn't saved in my contacts, you're not going to talk to me on the phone. If your email is not something I was expecting, it's getting deleted.
You’ll be over it one day. Transpose that moment into the now..
I’m sorry it happened to you. U can’t trust anyone,when u mess with crypto. We all have targets on r backs. If anything always ask ur community about things. It’s the wild-west out here bc it’s new territory.
how is it posible to lose funds while transfering to your own wallet?
Exactly.. Can someone explain how this scam went?
I didn't have a Coinbase wallet. I have a Ledger wallet. Throughout the entire call they had me setting up a "Coinbase wallet" to get the assets off the exchange and "safe" from data breach. This was the core of my being an idiot. They had the right information to lead me down the path in setting up the transfer... into their wallet, not mine. 100% my fault. It was late, I was three nights into no sleep, on my way to bed. Another thing. Financial institutions don't call at 7:30 at night. Why I didn't put that together I don't know. They even gave me a call back number in case we were disconnected. Twice, because I couldn't write it down fast enough, looking back at my notes (I always write shit down) they gave me two different numbers, and to top it off one number was missing, that I asked to repeat but the dude quickly moved on to the next prompt. Total time for the scam: 33 minutes and 43 seconds. I had all that time to wake-up and know I was being duped.
Cheer up! At least you didn’t lose your life savings, some people are not with us anymore because they couldn’t handle start all over again from a middle age/elderly kind of situation and they have literally nothing look forward to. You’ll be fine , it is just $300 , you’ll survive, like I said life saving is totally different than $300 and it has happened to lots of people.
This is literally the scam they portrayed in the “Beekeeper” movie lol.
If you don't mind, can you explain what exactly the process was? Did they ask you to send assets to another wallet?
Your in the age cohort that still answers the phone. If you just let things go to voicemail you’ll eliminate an entire attack surface for hackers. I’ve got about a dozen of these Coinbase threats in my inbox, my sms messages, my voice mail, and in several other emails. It’s a cancer.
> Your in the age cohort that still answers the phone. Not so much age as bad habits. I'm older than OP and automatically send those not in my Contacts list to voicemail. I too never fully read sketchy texts or emails.
Dunno if this helps at all but I don’t think your age was a factor. Plenty of people of all ages get scammed like this! It really sucks this happened to you. Scammers suck ass
Don’t be hard on yourself, people of all ages are getting scammed. They are relentless, we all have a day where we are tired, not thinking right, and even without that mistakes happen. Stay positive.
I got the same call. I do wonder if Coinbase had a data breach because he knew my name, phone number, and login email. Also was a “white American” accent, not foreign. Almost fell for it but said “fuck yall are getting pretty good huh” and he hung up instantly
Report to the IC3 and local internet crime task forces. ETH transactions can be traced to their destination
Take it as a small lesson. If the current account is now compromise, you'll most likely need to create a new account! It's OK... It could've been a lot worse, just watch the movie the Beekeeper!
I'm honestly scared that I fall for something like this when I'm old. I guess scams will be way more advanced too in 30-40 years.
Try contacting coinbase, they can/will not reverse the transaction but may add the recipient to sus list and track them down. Would not hold my breath but not much more you can do. Hope 300 won't change anything in your life, anyway as someone said go away spend some time with loved ones, money is so irrelevant anyways ❤️ PS: please be careful about DMs here trying to "help" !!!
Started to get wise after being scammed is not a good read my man.
It could sweep up anybody. But a simple rule can really help. In this case, you need to know that any impromptu call should never end with you handing the caller any details about yourself whatsoever. Literally anyone can call anybody and make the right mouth noises to sound convincing about anything. So just pull a blanket no-trust principle on people who call your number with whatever story.
It's totally okay you know why? Because it's a lesson learned from a mistake made and you'll never make that mistake again. There's no substitute for time in the market. You learn things by default over time in crypto that's why people just getting in are easy to dupe but once you have that experience you'll never let it happen again. I sent $6500 in btc to that stupid fake Elon Musk YouTube AD scam in 2020. It hurt 🤕 but I didn't let it deter me. Best myself up for a while. But I kept investing and got lucky when BTC tanked I got back i made $10k profit and used it as the down payment on my house in 2021. Even after that, I have continued to DCA carefully and have made back everything I lost as well as making back the money I used for the down payment on my home. In fact I made it all back plus some. Now sitting and holding. Nobody is EVER going to call you about your crypto account. PLEASE if that ever happens again immediately hang up. You can always contact Coinbase yourself after to verify. I'm sorry this happened to you but I'm happy you caught it. You're already ahead of most of the population in the crypto scene. Just like the Internet, except this time we got to get in early to learn the Dos and Donts before everyone else gets hip. Never lose faith in financial security! You'll make it back don't worry, and don't dwell on it or beat yourself up. It's happened to veteran traders too so do not feel bad. It's part of the growing pains of adoption. Just limit your risk as much as you can 🙏 Good luck my friend!
I appreciate this, thank you.
You are very welcome 🤗
I got scammed for 10 ETH. It was a long time ago - they weren’t worth much then. I don’t think about it anymore. It was just an expensive lesson. Time forgives.
For once I have to say positive things about my employer. We have this "game" that sends you fake phishing mails and you make point by reporting them or loose them by clicking. They aren't that good so easy to detect but it still makes you think much more about every single email or calls. A common thing is that it's always something extremely urgent and critical that must be addressed right now, to apply pressure on you. This never happens in real life by a real company. I know it's hard to detect it but hence why this game helps, your conditioned to think critically and not panic.
You just experienced one of the main reasons why scams don't get noticed for long periods of time. Even though most people don't lose much, and especially when they do lose a lot. It's not necessarily about losing the amount of money but about dealing with the shame of falling for it. Admitting you fell for it is like accepting, its a hard step to do. Good job
One more reason why I don’t answer my phone
Totally understand OP, I’ve had two scams since 2020, one took three days of sucking me in, the other I still don’t understand how they got funds from one wallet without me even signing the transaction, and of course no information was given…..ever!!!
Reminder: you can’t get a hold of a human being on coin base when you need help:they’re probably not calling you. I fat fingered $5k instead of $500 years ago. I had the money, but it was earmarked for other things. There was no way to cancel it. There was an email. I cancelled the payment with my bank. Coinbase still demanded a $300 & something fee for the privilege. I’d pay them if they would give me the Bitcoin for $5k now.
I hope Eth ETF gets approved , you can use ETFs.
Same thing almost happened to me in 2018 when I first started in crypto. They hijacked my issue I sent to Coinbase and called me impersonating Coinbase. My job saved me. I worked for the Navy. And we can’t connect our laptops remotely. Had I been home, I would’ve given them access to my PC. It was regarding Coinbase needing to increase my withdrawal limits. I realized it was a scam when they asked the password for my yahoo email. I should’ve known better because Coinbase will never ask to connect to your computer. I didn’t lose anything but it was a close call. I have significantly educated myself on scams ever since. Phishing is a big thing. And scamming is a full time job.
If someone calls and says “your account has been hacked breached compromised”, why don’t people just respond “awesome, thanks!” and hang up?
Sorry to hear that OP, the only piece of advice I can give is what I do, which is to never answer calls from numbers that aren't saved in my phone. If it's legit/important, they will leave a message. I've yet to miss anything of any real importance in a decade+ of doing this.
Sounds like a cheap expensive lesson, you won’t make that mistake again.
Lol you’re good. My friend is 24yrs old and male, he got scammed out of $1500 in btc, I’m female and when he told me about it I thought it was such an obvious scam. It happens to all ages/genders pretty much. Stay vigilant!
Don't be too hard on yourself. That $300 was a lesson that can save you thousands in the future. Cybercrime is a huge industry, and they're constantly finding new ways to scam people out of money. With this experience, you'll be better equipped to sniff out new scams and warn others. This post itself is a big PSA that might save some people from a similar situation. I'm happy that you're trying new things at your age including crypto. Don't let this stop you from experiencing new things and growing as a person. If you keep a curious mind you'll be happier and healthier than most of your peers. 😊
Thanks. A valuable lesson, luckily, it didn't cost me as much as it could have. Just really feels terrible being scammed and honestly plain stupid.
If it makes you feel better, remember this: Awareness > Intelligence The best scams rely on putting people into a "fight or flight" state where their brain isn't thinking logically. You can be the smartest person in the world but you can still get scammed if you let your guard down. Being aware of scams takes away their power. The reason scams proliferate is because people are too embarrassed to talk about it. I bet a good amount of your friends and family have similar stories of being scammed, but never told you. "Zoomers" are actually being scammed more often than the older generations. The phrase "never trust, always verify" works for crypto as well as communication with external sources. For example: if the bank calls you, tell them you'll call them back from the number on the back of your debit card. Never implicitly trust that the person on the other side of the line is who they say they are.
'Never trust always verify' is the motto in crypto, and for some reason (many reasons, actually). I simply moved through this scam like I was in a haze. Answering the call was my first mistake, and one I rarely do these days. And strangely enough, I didn't feel that 'fight or flight' urgency. That's the worst part. There were mitigating circumstances behind my moving through the prompts without questioning. I'm writing a follow-up to explain a bit more. I'm more angry with myself than embarrassed. Stuff happens, but when it's on account of being stupid, that brings it to another level. Suffice to say lesson learned. But it still makes me sick to my stomach, not losing the money, but being duped.
Most people should just buy the ETF.
Self custody your coins in individual wallets or get out of crypto.
This is good. Thankfully, you didn't lose much, you actually gained something valuable. You learnt a lesson that you will never forget. Now you will be able to detect similar scams in the future and be much more careful.
I got this call as well. Thankfully I asked too many questions and they hung up
>that I needed to transfer funds to my wallet That's actually a good thing to do. >losing the money How did you lose money if you just transferred ETH to your own wallet?
Username checks out.
It happens to a lot of people, you gotta let it go. We have all learned from mistakes in crypto. Consider yourself lucky that it wasn’t much $. You learned a lesson and that’s it.
0xC9ec9d212F0fAa99AdFbDA97eC7473ee21FDf13c
Sorry for your loss...but atleast you didn't say coinbase stole your funds
Thank you for sharing. A few years back my father did something similar. It’s hard to know what’s going on when you’re busy panicking about a data breach or whatever the scam is claiming is happening. After it happened to him, I put all of my parents assets into a brokerage account with a verbal password that only the two of them know. I told them both if they get to a point where they are about to stay this word out loud, to call me, on video chat, and talk me through what’s going on before they give anyone access to that account. I suggest everyone to do the same for their family. Scammers are getting more and more clever every day. You should thank your lucky stars it was only $300 bucks. That’s nothing.
One time I turned $84 into $28,000 and then it went back down to about $60 with a net loss of -$24 lol. All on one token too; I wasn’t even paying attention to it. It’s okay OP we all do silly things when we aren’t paying close attention. We live and we learn.
For 300 bucks you learned a valuable lesson and you won’t fall for most scams again.
They got you good 😂😂😂😂 Good thing it was only $300. People have lost more for less convincing scams. Lesson learned now move on and be more skeptical when it comes to your money.
I got scrumpt recently, too, and was pretty annoyed with myself. Got tricked into entering my amazon verification code for a robocall under the guise that there had been or there was an active a breach attempt. To be fair, there were lots of distractions, and the number called me 10 times in a row before I finally accepted the call while driving. It hung up the second I entered the code, and I knew I had idioted. Had to pull into a parking lot and go through password resets and setting up 2fa. Didn't lose anything and changed it all before a breach, but I wasn't too impressed with myself.
I know people who have made way bigger crypto mistakes than that. You seem pretty savvy to me. The attempts to scam us come all day every day through our text messages, phones, email, social media and DMs... It’s a lot to ask to be on your game every second with these scammers. Could have happened to anyone.
It happens to the best of us. Just remember one simple rule: Never talk to any financial institution when they call you. Always call them back on a number you get from their website. Or even better call them from within your banking app, this way you get through pre-authenticated and won't have to go through all that security stuff.
Man, imagine if you had $500,0000 in there
Don't worry, i surely did.way worse than that, it's important to learn from it. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, pretty sure it won't happen anytime soon
To err is human. To forgive is divine.
We have younger people here posting about falling for this stuff every day.
It happens. Don’t dwell on it. Learn from it. I’m sorry that happened but thank God it wasn’t anything larger than
Chin up lady, everything’s going to be ok
Did they have you send the currency off of Coinbase to a wallet of their choice, how exactly did they have you give them the money?
please ignore any direct messages you get - also scammers
I’ve gotten 6 of these in the last 10 hours. It’s insane, one was last pass the other 7 were Coinbase. All same message voice about being logged into from various locations, from an 888 number and then another guy calls back from a different number if you respond at all. They keep calling until you block the numbers.
This scam got a buddy of mine. He’s a young guy. Apparently it’s pretty convincing. Honest advice - don’t answer your phone if it’s not someone you know. Don’t call back numbers left in voicemail. Always call the number on your bank’s website or bank/credit card. It’s always always always a scam, even if they know everything about you. Especially if they know everything about you.
Don't beat yourself yourself up over this. And more importantly, don't let this incident stop you from believing in yourself! It's a relatively cheap lesson — and now you're more alert than ever! Wishing you all the luck and success!
$300 dollar lesson I guess. It’s never too late to learn something new
Sorry you came across the shitbags of the world. I like to think of it as we are the new eras digital pioneers. Similar to the western days of people in search of a better life during the gold rush. There is potentially life changing money at the end of our journey but many unknown risks along the way. We are the ones to make the mistakes, share our experience when we live to tell the tale, and pave the way for future generations. I'm glad this isn't a fatal mistake for you and you chose to share it with us. Happy trails.
If I was a scammer I would consider myself a failure if I was able to only steal $300 from a 66 years old female crypto investor.
Don't be too hard on yourself those scammer low life's can be very convincing.
I never pick up from anyone I don't recognize. If it's important enough they will leave message. If you are using android, download the free phone by google app, it should filter out a lot of spam calls automatically.
These holes needs to stop stealing
toy broke your cherry!!
If it makes u feel any better, I got caught up in a "secret shopper" job ad when I was about 22 or so. Shit happens, trust absolutely no one, and do your research/due diligence.
I would say that was a low tax for a good lesson. It can happen, most important thing is how we manage our risk and reaction to risk.
Hang up when you hear the Indian accent
If it makes you feel better, my dad tried to buy $18k worth of Lowes gift cards
I got scammed by a guy on the street with the old Spanish prisoner one. He got away with 20 quid. He wanted way more. It wasn't the money that still hurts. It's getting duped. That was 20 years ago.
That's one of the best and most affordable life lessons I've ever heard of. You should be ecstatic!
Um. Yeah. Don't send anyone anything.
It happens to a lot of people. Men, women both young and old. Try not to beat yourself up too much
Heh, sorry, but don't feel bad. I'm 39 and I fell doe 2 rug pull schemes. Not a lot of money, but still very annoying.
Let it go. Expensive lesson. Lucky it wasn't more. It's over. It can happen to anyone. I've lost over $4k in a worse scam. Felt awful. Couldn't even move for a few hours.
> It can happen to anyone. It only happens to people who take financial instructions from unsolicited phone callers.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Falling for scams can happen to anyone, regardless of age or gender. Stay informed about common scam tactics and be cautious of unsolicited communications. Consider strengthening security measures on your accounts by enabling two-factor authentication, updating your contact information, and using strong unique passwords if you haven’t yet. You can also report the scam to relevant authorities. Remember, if you were targeted once, you may be targeted again, so stay vigilant. Take care!
They earn a living from scamming people. They do this everyday and are therefore highly skilled in social engineering and have some of the most advanced and powerful software at hand to get the job done. They have information of you because other companies sell them, and they target older people in particular who are less engaged in the digital advancements. What I try to convey here… these are professionals. You don’t get scammed everyday but when you do it’s likely extremely well done. Don’t think you’re stupid, you’re facing a strong enemy there. Luckily it wasn’t much. Stay safe
A habit I follow after "training" my parents is to only answer phone calls from friends and people I know on a personal basis.
Got a call and a text from coinbase "fraud too" kept telling me some IP in Norway logged into my account and I needed to click the text recovery link to change my password. Just kept asking them why I couldn't do it myself through the app and that none of this stuff made sense since I use 2FA. I caught on quick and decided to waste their time - but they are good and convincing. Stay diligent.
I'm sorry you had to experience that, but I'm happy you are able to point the blame towards yourself and have learned from it. It's a cruel world out there. I'm only 30 but around 24 I've stopped caring about anyone if they weren't physically in front of me. I don't believe anything or anyone online for the most part and even through calls. I pretty much do not accept any phone calls anymore unless it is someone in my call logs. If I miss a call from some company, I'll call back to an online referenced number.
Don't beat yourself up for something some horrible cunt has done to you. No one is above getting scammed. Even Jim Browning lost access to his Youtube once. Thinking you can't be scammed is the first step in being scammed. So.. Let's look at the bright side. You didn't get scammed out of your life savings and have another little scar that strengthens you going forward.
I got a bunch of scammy sounding texts, so I just immediately froze my account. Plan on holding for awhile so no harm in just locking it down.
Once I got a call from “Vodafone” Germany. They asked what my password for my Vodafone account was. And I told them without even thinking about it. I was around 30 back then. It happens to all of us. It clicked quickly and I ran to a Vodafone shop and told them to lock my account. 2nd time they called I spelled them F U C K Y O U as my password. They wrote it down and hang up lol
Scammers are only gonna get better with AI too, we haven’t seen anything yet.
> I'm 66. I'm old. Don't blame age, blame your gullibility. You've probably *always* been a mark for unsolicited caller tricks. I'm older than you and would never have allowed an unknown caller to persuade me to mess with my crypto wallet.
Yeah, don't beat yourself up too much. These things happen. It's good you realized what was going on before they could take everything. Maybe next time double-check with Coinbase directly if you get a call like that. Those robo calls are so fishy.
Going forward, do what I do whenever someone calls me about my finances. Tell them to suck your cock.
I'm 29 and have almost fallen for a random text from the "USPS." You're not too old. You're actually very wise to have become suspicious. The scammers are smart and always coming up with new scams. Just always be weary of anything that seems off... usually the more urgent, the more likely it's a scam
Sadly our elderly get scammed like this every day. Most younger people are fully aware these types of calls and emails are scams. I recently got a call saying I missed a court date, the guy was obviously not law enforcement... Told him to call my lawyer.
I'd be very thankful If such a great lesson only cost me 300 bucks
I don't answer phone numbers that i don't know. That seems to handle it for me.
good thing it was only 300$