Users of one of the most famous cryptocurrency exchanges lost $ 37 million due to a fraudulent scheme

Cryptocurrency fraudster Chirag Tomar has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing more than $ 37 million from hundreds of victims. The hacker created a website that imitated the Coinbase service. The exact number of victims is not specified, but it is noted that the scheme affected users around the world, including the United States.

Tomar was arrested upon entering the country on December 20, 2023, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The offender now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.

The fraudster’s website was created in 2021 to deceive users into believing that they were accessing the genuine Coinbase Pro service. Victims who entered their credentials on the fake site were subjected to Coinbase credential theft. In some cases, the fraudsters tricked users into providing remote desktop access, which allowed them to access their Coinbase accounts.

The fraudsters also impersonated Coinbase customer service representatives, asking users to provide two-factor authentication codes over the phone. After gaining access to the victims' accounts, the criminals quickly transferred assets to their crypto wallets. In one case, a US victim lost more than $ 240,000 worth of cryptocurrency when she was tricked into calling a fake Coinbase representative to regain access to her trading account.

Chirag Tomar operated several cryptocurrency wallets that received tens of millions of dollars in stolen funds. The money was then converted into other cryptocurrencies or moved around on the wallets, and eventually cashed out.