Coinbase exposes $20 million bounty on blackmail

Criminals are currently trying to blackmail 20 million dollars from the operators of the crypto tours Coinbase. However, the company is now turning the skewer and exposing the same sum as a reward for information that leads to the perpetrator’s captivation.

Data theft by bribe

According to one Blog entry The company has bribed criminals abroad to an external customer service in order to gain access to sensitive customer data. Addresses, telephone numbers, ID data and parts of banking and social security information were stolen. According to Coinbase, login data or additions to digital wallets were not affected. Overall, less than one percent of the monthly active customers should be affected – according to current figures, this would be under 84,000 people. The affected support staff were released, according to security chief Philip Martin.

They worked in India, which indicates a possible connection between the perpetrators – even if this has not yet been confirmed. With the captured information, the criminals carried out targeted social engineering attacks by exposed to customers as coin base employees. The company does not provide any information about the exact extent of the damage, but emphasizes that it is completely compensated for damaged customers.

After the theft, the perpetrators also called for $ 20 million from Coinbase by email and threatened to publish the stolen data additionally. But Coinbase could not be intimidated. “The spontaneous reaction of everyone was: by no means!”, Martin told the business magazine Fortune.

Search for perpetrators

Instead of paying, Coinbase is now actively calling for the perpetrators. For clues that lead to their arrest and conviction, the company praises a reward of $20 million. Information can be submitted via the email address security@coinbase.com. Coinbase also works with law enforcement authorities in the USA and internationally. Finally, Coinbase once again warned of fraudsters in the crypto area: Customers will never be asked by phone or email to publish passwords or security codes – if you receive such inquiries, you should end the conversation immediately.