Date Received: 2023-11-17
Issue: Unexpected or other fees
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Within 5 days, after trading coins and being forced to pay extremely high amounts of money to do so, Coinbase then locked my account due to a bank transfer confusion. During this time I had no way to access my account and watched as they drained my balance.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 90028
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-16
Issue: Other service problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: The coinbase app prevents me from seeing balances in my crypto wallets. I contacted support via chat and did all the steps I could do and that still didn't fix it. I asked for a supervisor and the agent, XXXX, refused.
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 223XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-13
Issue: Other service problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: To Whom It May Concern, I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a VERY serious issue that I have been facing with the www.coinbase.com. In this year of XXXX ( please see attached as evidences ), I wired transferred money of {$25000.00} from my personal bank XXXX XXXX XXXX to www.coinbase.com with the help of the scammer. I transferred my virtual money from www.coinbase.com to XXXX to invest which is a SCAMMING PLATFORM operating in the United States of America. But when I was about to withdraw all my money with profit this XXXX of 2023, I had been asked by the investment web site to pay about {$200000.00} some sort of fees which I do not have at all before I can get them back. I got a feeling that I got scammed big time! Then, I contacted the SEC telling me thru email ( please see attached proof ) that the www.doexoll.com was not legally operated in the United States of America. Unfortunately, this resulted in a significant financial loss for me! The www.coinbase.com here in America did not protect the Americans with this scam web site and allowed or lured American residents like me to transfer money and invest to the illegal web site. The www.coinbase.com MUST NOT ALLOW to engage with the the illegal web site at all that will lure Americans to put their money to. This is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! I demand the www.coinbase.com to INVESTIGATE and take this case very seriously. If not, I will reach out with the local media and cable news for them to do a live investigation about this!
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 90813
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-13
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/2023 I was the victim of a sophisticated phishing attack that led to the loss of XXXX XXXX from my Coinbase account. The attacker leveraged an exploit on Coinbase 's website. This exploit allowed the attacker as a third party to create a legitimate support ticket on my Coinbase account, this support ticket was verified as legitimate through their mobile app and had vague information associated with it with no warnings that it did not originate from Coinbase or that they would not contact me for that request. This support ticket gave me a false sense of security that the representative I was speaking to was in fact a Coinbase support employee. After they verified themselves they sent a " secure portal link '' to verify my credentials and restore my account back to normal. They were able to use those credentials instead to transfer my funds out of my account. I was able to identify this as a scam immediately after the transfer was initiated and I immediately hung up the phone, called back a real Coinbase support phone number, and changed all of my credentials as soon as possible. I used Coinbase 's automated system to lock my account, at the automated systems direction since my account was compromised, however, that meant that I could not do anything more on my account for a XXXX period. I then pleaded with the customer support agent I was able to contact within XXXX minutes of the transfer to cancel the pending withdrawal as they confirmed it was still in a pending status and I could not actually do anything on my locked account. The customer support agent put me on hold and said they were going to escalate it to the relevant party that could help and a couple of minutes later came back on the phone assuring me that the pending transfer would be canceled as they had between XXXX - XXXX minutes to cancel that transaction before it because irreversible. After my XXXX lockout period was up and I was able to regain access to my account I saw that the transaction was not reversed and then had to file a local police report and an XXXX with the FBI for the fraud that I was subjected to. What do you think would be a fair resolution to your complaint? I followed up with Coinbase support a few times the week following the event as well to help identify how this person was able to create a support ticket on my account and eventually I discovered the steps necessary to replicate the issue. For all but one of Coinbase 's support tickets, over XXXX in total, it made you as the account owner verify your identity by sending you a six-digit code to your email before the ticket is created on your profile. However, Coinbase had one option anyone could create a generic ticket on an account without verifying the identity of the account holder by simply having their email address. I took this information and submitted a XXXX XXXX for the issue as it seemed like an error on Coinbase to have that as an option. I used the XXXX website, information for that service was provided by Coinbase, and I submitted how to replicate the XXXX, which I was able to replicate until the XXXX of XXXX. Coinbase had approved my XXXX XXXX request paying me a fee of {$50.00} with the attached response " Hello and thank you for your report. We have done some internal research and this particular issue has been previously triaged by our engineering teams and there is a slated fix which should be XXXX within our next code commit. For your efforts we will award a XXXX time bonus of {$50.00} for reporting this to us. We look forward to seeing future submissions from you. '' This tells me that Coinbase identified this as an issue, most likely due to me hounding them about it after my incident, and that they are at fault. They have also since completely overhauled their support options and they no longer create tickets on accounts that do not verify their identity on the website. They still have this support request as an option but the account holder gets an email and that email has very strong verbiage around the support ticket received and states " If you DID NOT authorize a sign-in attempt Immediately take these security steps to secure access to your Coinbase account : 1. Remove email forwarding in your email settingsoften these third parties use email forwarding to intercept future emails 2. Create a new unique and complex email password 3. Add 2-step verification to your email ( highly recommended ) 4. Reset your Coinbase password at www.coinbase.com/password_resets/new after your email is secure 5. Respond directly to this email for account recovery instructions once these steps are complete " I attempted to go through Coinbases complain program, filing my first complaint on XX/XX/XXXX and it took until XX/XX/XXXX to get a response, in which they stated " After an extensive review, weve determined that your sign-in credentials were used to access your account and transfer the funds in question on XXXX XX/XX/2023, as explained in case XXXX. The Coinbase User Agreement states that users are responsible for maintaining adequate security and control of any and all access methods and codes used to access Coinbase. Here, you allege that a third-party gained access to your account and sent the funds in question to an external blockchain address. The same User Agreement provides that Coinbase is not responsible for any loss suffered due to compromise of account login credentials due to no fault of Coinbase. As a result, Coinbase is unable to reimburse you for your loss. Additionally, due to blockchain protocol, Coinbase is not able to reverse this transaction. If you have not already done so, it is imperative that you report this incident to law enforcement agencies in your jurisdiction immediately through this link : XXXX XXXX XXXX. Be sure to include as much detail as possible in your report. Coinbase fully cooperates with law enforcement investigations. We hope this information is helpful to you in showing why Coinbase came to this decision. As a result, Coinbase considers your complaint closed. Thank you for your time and attention in pursuing this issue with Coinbase. '' I then immediately filed a follow-up complaint to provide additional context and waited to get back this response from their complaint team on XX/XX/XXXX " Thank you for submitting a Formal Complaint through Coinbase. We noticed that you previously submitted a Formal Complaint regarding this issue and we answered as such with a XXXX Notice. Please refer to that information as was provided previously and feel free to contact our Coinbase Support Team if you have a new issue that needs our attention. '' I have since filed a complaint with the XXXX and they have directed me to the CFPB.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 19426
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-11
Issue: Money was not available when promised
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: This complaint concerns Coinbase, from XX/XX/XXXX to present. I have had a Coinbase account for years, although I have not been very active. From XXXX, I was steadily uploading US dollars from a verified bank account to Coinbase, XXXX about {$22000.00}. Coinbase has previously announced that it was possible to trade daily amounts of {$25000.00} ( https : //www.coinbase.com/blog/buy-and-sell-immediately-and-higher-daily-limits ), and I was depositing daily amounts of approximately {$3000.00} after an initial {$7500.00} deposit using ACH transfer. I also verified before each deposit that Coinbase would make the money available within seven days. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Coinbase that my account was on a withdrawal hold " for an additional 30 days, '' although I later learned that it was actually frozen for nearly seven weeks. Email text included below : **Withdrawal Hold placed on your Coinbase account We have increased the holding time before you can withdraw your funds by 30 business days. This is meant to protect you against fraud by ensuring that you authorized this purchase. No action is required on your part. If you believe this is in error, please contact us by visiting XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Losing access to {$22000.00} for nearly two months was unacceptable to me, especially as I needed it much more quickly to pay for a planned medical expense ( which I informed Coinbase by email ). I contacted customer service, who asked me to complete an additional verification form and promised that it would be reviewed. However, since days passed without further action and I needed to regain access to the money, I contacted customer service again and asked if it would be possible to withdraw my money from Coinbase back to my verified account, especially since it remained in US dollars. I also pointed out that since the withdrawal hold was ostensibly for my own good, to protect me from fraud, there should be no problem redepositing it in a bank account that Coinbase itself had already verified. Additionally, of course, I had neither asked for nor wanted " fraud '' protection. I kept asking each day for help resolving what should have been a simple problem, but things got more complex : - I was only directed to the formal internal complaint line on XX/XX/XXXX, three days after the problem started. The internal complaint process, I was informed, would take up to 45 business days- in other words, longer than my withdrawal hold. - Coinbase reps offered conflicting explanations for the hold. It was variously : - - For my own protection, and to keep me from making an investment that I might regret. - - Because ACH transactions were not available immediately, and that I should have either made a wire transfer or checked the time when the money would have been available before depositing ( I did, and in any case the email that an additional hold had been placed on the account meant that processing time was not the explanation ). - - Because my bank was still processing the money ( I confirmed with my bank on XXXX that the funds had been transferred ) - - It was something the system did automatically, and no one at Coinbase had any control over it. - - The hold wasn't at Coinbase at all ; since it was external, no one at Coinbase had any control over it. - - The hold was under review, and someone at Coinbase would be able to remove it once they had checked my account. I also offered repeatedly to show additional identity verification or any other information that they needed, but was turned down every time. After several days of contacting Coinbase repeatedly, I was asked to wait and inquire about the review status on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, to give Coinbase additional time, I reached out again, only to be told that my account was still under review with no change. As a footnote, I learned too late that Coinbase has pulled this trick before, freezing accounts at random for months at a time, especially over the {$20000.00} mark ( see here XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: AK
Zip: 99709
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-11
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Commencing on or about XX/XX/2023, I fell victim to several multi-layered scam operations run by a sophisticated group of thieves using the XXXX app which involved me making deposits for a total amount of XXXX USD from my Coinbase account to fraudulent investment firm ( XXXX ).
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 919XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Commencing on or about XX/XX/2021, I fell victim to two multi-layered scam operations run by XXXX which involved me making deposits for a total amount of XXXX CAD from my Coinbase account to XXXX at the instructions of the scammers.
Company Response:
State: AL
Zip: 350XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-09
Issue: Other service problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I am appealing to the CFPB for intervention regarding the restrictive {$5000.00} weekly sending limit imposed on my cryptocurrency transactions by Coinbase. As a U.S. citizen, a verified Level 3 user, a holder of the Coinbase Visa card, and an IT professional, I find this limit, purportedly for security reasons, completely unjustified and a hindrance to my financial independence. This is especially so considering the robust personal security measures I utilize, such as employing a password manager, two-factor authentication, and additional security best practices. I made efforts to address this issue with Coinbase on XX/XX/2023, but my case was abruptly closed on XX/XX/2023 without any form of response or rationale. Such dismissal not only disregards my need to self-custody my assetsa fundamental right in the cryptocurrency sphere that allows individuals to manage their holdings directlybut also ignores the fact that not all Coinbase users are subject to this same limit. The imposed limit means it would take over 2 years to transfer my entire portfolio to my personal wallet. This is not only impractical but also runs counter to the principle of autonomy that cryptocurrency is built upon. This is in stark difference from the {$500000.00} daily transfer capability I have with XXXX. This discrepancy reveals a significant inconsistency in user treatment and a deviation from accepted industry practices. The weekly transaction limit also leads to an accumulation of excessive network fees, undermining the cost-efficiency that blockchain technology is known for. The constraints imposed by Coinbase do not align with their promises of transactional freedom, and the opacity of their customer service response has left me without clear justification for how these limits are determined or can be reviewed. The current limitation not only undermines my ability to engage in the cryptocurrency space as an informed and responsible user but also limits my financial freedom without a valid basis. I am fully aware of the risks and have taken more than adequate steps to secure my holdings, which should be acknowledged through a reconsidered sending limit appropriate for my situation. Therefore, I am requesting that the CFPB support my plea for a substantial increase in my sending limit, reflecting my verified status and my capabilities in managing security risks. Such an adjustment would also ensure equitable treatment in line with other users and market norms. Enclosed is evidence highlighting the differences between the sending limits set by Coinbase and those available to me through XXXX. I am grateful for the CFPB 's assistance in this matter, aiming to uphold my rights to securely and effectively control my cryptocurrency investments.
Company Response:
State: OR
Zip: 971XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-09
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-08
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Commencing on or around XXXX XX/XX/2023, I fell victim to XXXX multi-layered scam operations run by XXXX. XXXX ( the XXXX ), which involved me making deposits for a total amount of XXXX my Coinbase account to a fraudulent investment firm ( XXXX ).
Company Response:
State: FL
Zip: 334XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-06
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I was an account holder with Coinbase for nearly 7 years. On Friday XXXX XXXXXX/XX/2023 I noticed that I got email indicating withdrawl from my coinbase account for 4 transactions that I did not authorized. I have enclosed 4 transactions as attachments. Hackers hacked into my account and sold crypto currency and transferred money into 2 bank accounts that donot belong to me.I called coinbase within one hour and asked them to cancel transactions and they refused, instead blaming me. Here is their responce XXXX XXXX, Thanks for your patience while we reviewed your case. We understand that youve reported unauthorized activity in your Coinbase account. If an unauthorized third party accessed your account, its likely that your email account, password, 2-step verification codes, device, or some combination of these, were compromised. Our records show that on XXXX your account was accessed from a XXXX device and the XXXX address XXXX / XXXXXXXX XXXX The unauthorized activity youve reported may have been initiated by a third party who has access to your device, email, password, 2-step verification security codes, a combination of these. After gaining access to your account, the following transactions occurred : XXXX, XXXX XXXX / a withdrawal of {$4900.00} XXXX, XXXX XXXX / a withdrawal of {$4900.00} XXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXX / a withdrawal of {$4900.00} XXXX, XXXX XXXX / a withdrawal of {$4900.00}
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 60504
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-06
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A