30s Summary

Crypto scammers, impersonating Coinbase support staff, reportedly earn five figures weekly by targeting crypto businesses and software engineers. The victims, who usually have a minimum of $50,000, are lured into sending money to a scammer-controlled wallet. The stolen crypto is then cleaned using Tornado Cash and is often converted to Monero. The funds are stored in a Ledger hardware wallet and then exchanged for cash through middlemen. These scams have reportedly earned over $127 million in Q1 2024, according to Scam Sniffer.

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Crypto scammers are pretending to be support folk from Coinbase, and they’re making a pretty penny from it. Some of the crooks are reportedly raking in five figures every week by targeting top dogs in crypto businesses and key software engineers.

Nick Neuman, the big gun behind Bitcoin self-custody solutions at Casa, recently had a mind-blowing call with one of these scammers. Instead of freaking out, he turned the tables and dug into what it’s like to be a scammer. The con artist’s reply? They’re pulling in a minimum of five figures a week, sometimes hitting as much as $35K in a day. So, yeah, scamming people pays alright.

Neuman shared the entire chat in a video back in November. In it, the scammer tries to reel in Neuman by pretending that someone’s trying to change his password. They sent a so-called warning that turned out to be a naughty link. But Neuman flipped it around and asked who usually falls for these nasty tricks.

According to the fraudster, it’s not just your average Joe who gets fooled. CEOs, CFOs, and software engineers are all on the hit list. Apparently, they never target any poor souls, their database only includes folks who have a minimum of $50,000 to their names.

The surprisingly talkative scammer went on to say they get their victim list from Unchained Capital, a Bitcoin financial services company. They assume everyone on the list has a Coinbase account and that’s their in. They also use a thing called an “auto-doxxer” to dig up more dirt on their targets before making the scam call. The end game isn’t to steal passwords but to trick victims into sending money to a wallet they control.

What happens after they get the loot? The fraudsters use something called Tornado Cash to clean the stolen crypto. They’re not based in the United States and often convert the stolen funds into a sneaky crypto called Monero (XMR). According to the scammer, “After you hold it in XMR for a couple of days, that sucker’s gone. You’re not seeing the funds again.”

These swindlers even have a system to turn their ill-gotten crypto into cold hard cash. They avoid using any exchanges that require identification and use hardware wallets, specifically naming Ledger. Once they have the funds in the wallet, they use middlemen to exchange it for cash.

For them, the world of crypto is like the “Wild Wild West”, there aren’t any tough cops to stop them. Their audacious goal? To hit $100,000 per month from scamming folks.

In just one quarter of 2024, these dirty tricks robbed people of over $127 million, according to web security firm Scam Sniffer. So, beware of any suspicious calls or emails, it’s not just your grandma that scammers are after!