Fraudsters impersonate Coinbase in a convincing recovery scam
Tali writes about scams and consumer rights for Which? delving into fraud, technology and consumer rights topics to keep readers safe and empowered.
Which? is warning Coinbase users to be wary of phishing emails claiming to recover funds lost to an 'unauthorised transaction'.
A scam victim, who lost £469 to the Quantum AI scam we uncovered in 2024, alerted Which? to this email seemingly from Coinbase. The email has the hallmarks of a recovery scam and has most likely been sent from the same scammers.
Recovery fraud is when scammers contact you, claiming they can help get money back you lost in a previous scam. This is almost always not true; it's just another attempt to scam you again.
In the past 13 months, Report Fraud has received 9,450 reports relating to recovery scams with losses totalling £208m. The true scale and impact of these scams is likely to be much more.
Below, we outline how this particular scam works and how to avoid recovery scams.
Coinbase recovery scam
The email is sent from an address not associated with Coinbase and begins by saying that unauthorised transactions have been linked to your personal account.
It then provides information on how much was lost to the scam and how much could be recovered.
It goes on to say that you’re entitled to reimbursement and provides an email address to send copies of your ID, such as your passport or driver’s licence, as well as your full name and photograph, in order to get your money back. These details can be used to commit identity fraud.
Sham recovery firms
Sometimes, scammers set up fake financial firms that claim to be able to recover your lost funds.
Fraudsters will advertise the services of these fraudulent firms by infiltrating social media posts, pages and groups where users speak about their experience of being scammed.
Last year, Which? reported on the recovery scammers leaving reviews on the pages of scam firms on Trustpilot. The ‘reviews’ promoted services for victims to get their money back.
Other times, scammers will seek out scam victims online and befriend them by pretending to be a fellow victim. They'll then point you in the direction of an individual or firm that they claim helped them recover their lost funds.
How to avoid recovery scams
If you’ve lost money to a scam, the best option to try to get your money back is by contacting your bank. We have guidance on how to do that here, depending on how you transferred the money.
All legitimate financial firms must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so if it’s not on the register, it’s best to avoid it.
If someone contacts you out of the blue on social media or via text, email or phone call offering to get your money back that’s been lost to a scam, this is almost always a scam attempt.
If you've lost money or spot an unauthorised transaction on your account, you should contact your bank immediately using the phone number on the back of your card.
Scams should also be reported to Report Fraud, or by calling the police on 101 if you live in Scotland. You can also forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
