Coinbase Blumetti Account Sim Swap - Revision history

Azoundria at 23:47, 2 May 2023

2023-05-02T23:47:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:47, 2 May 2023
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	{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}}		{{Imported Case Study 2\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}}
	{{Unattributed ~~Citations~~}}		{{Unattributed Sources}}

	[[File:Coinbase.jpg\|thumb\|Coinbase]]Coinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phishing website and sending him a specifically targeted email about a transaction. After Joe completed the login, the hacker used the authentication to trigger withdrawals, rapidly emptying the account.		[[File:Coinbase.jpg\|thumb\|Coinbase]]Coinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phishing website and sending him a specifically targeted email about a transaction. After Joe completed the login, the hacker used the authentication to trigger withdrawals, rapidly emptying the account.

	This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.		This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.<ref name="abcactionnews-7774" /><ref name="investopedia-2222" /><ref name="bbc-2223" /><ref name="coinbase-4114" /><ref name="coinbase-4115" /><ref name="morioh-4116" /><ref name="blockchair-7778" /><ref name="mycryptomedium-9257" />
	<ref name="abcactionnews-7774" /><ref name="investopedia-2222" /><ref name="bbc-2223" /><ref name="coinbase-4114" /><ref name="coinbase-4115" /><ref name="morioh-4116" /><ref name="blockchair-7778" /><ref name="mycryptomedium-9257" />

	== About Coinbase ==		== About Coinbase ==
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	!Description		!Description
	\|-		\|-
	\|April 7th, 2021 7:14:00 PM		\|April 7th, 2021 7:14:00 PM MDT
	\|Main Event		\|Main Event
	\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.		\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
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	\|		\|
	\|}		\|}

			== Technical Details ==
			This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

	== Total Amount Lost ==		== Total Amount Lost ==
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	== Ongoing Developments ==		== Ongoing Developments ==
	What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?		What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
			== General Prevention Policies ==
	== Prevention Policies ==
	It's recommended that platforms use factors that involve physical hardware, and more factors are always better to authenticate users.		It's recommended that platforms use factors that involve physical hardware, and more factors are always better to authenticate users.

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	All of these methods can effectively reduce the ability to perform these types of attacks. The responsibility and incentive are shared between platform and user to prevent these situations.		All of these methods can effectively reduce the ability to perform these types of attacks. The responsibility and incentive are shared between platform and user to prevent these situations.
			== Individual Prevention Policies ==
			{{Prevention:Individuals:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Individuals:End}}

			== Platform Prevention Policies ==
			{{Prevention:Platforms:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Platforms:End}}

			== Regulatory Prevention Policies ==
			{{Prevention:Regulators:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Regulators:End}}

	== References ==		== References ==
	<references><ref name="abcactionnews-7774">[https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/cryptocurrency-accounts-wiped-out-in-an-instant-by-cyber-crooks Cryptocurrency accounts wiped out 'in an instant' by cyber crooks] (Apr 10, 2022)</ref>		<references><ref name="abcactionnews-7774">[https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/cryptocurrency-accounts-wiped-out-in-an-instant-by-cyber-crooks Cryptocurrency accounts wiped out 'in an instant' by cyber crooks] (Apr 10, 2022)</ref>

	<ref name="investopedia-2222">[https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ Coinbase Review 2021] (Aug 5, 2021)</ref>		<ref name="investopedia-2222">[https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ Coinbase Review 2021] (Aug 6, 2021)</ref>

	<ref name="bbc-2223">[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56750102 Crypto firm Coinbase valued at more than oil giant BP - BBC News] (Aug 5, 2021)</ref>		<ref name="bbc-2223">[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56750102 Crypto firm Coinbase valued at more than oil giant BP - BBC News] (Aug 6, 2021)</ref>

	<ref name="coinbase-4114">[https://www.coinbase.com/ https://www.coinbase.com/] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>		<ref name="coinbase-4114">[https://www.coinbase.com/ https://www.coinbase.com/] (Dec 4, 2021)</ref>

	<ref name="coinbase-4115">[https://www.coinbase.com/about https://www.coinbase.com/about] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>		<ref name="coinbase-4115">[https://www.coinbase.com/about https://www.coinbase.com/about] (Dec 4, 2021)</ref>

	<ref name="morioh-4116">[https://morioh.com/p/2490cc6cf89a Morioh] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>		<ref name="morioh-4116">[https://morioh.com/p/2490cc6cf89a Morioh] (Dec 4, 2021)</ref>

	<ref name="blockchair-7778">[https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 Bitcoin / Transaction / 4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 — Blockchair] (May 23, 2022)</ref>		<ref name="blockchair-7778">[https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 Bitcoin / Transaction / 4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 — Blockchair] (May 23, 2022)</ref>

	<ref name="mycryptomedium-9257">[https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d What To Do When Sim Swapping Happens To You] (Oct 14, 2022)</ref></references>		<ref name="mycryptomedium-9257">[https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d What To Do When Sim Swapping Happens To You] (Oct 14, 2022)</ref></references>

Azoundria at 23:49, 18 February 2023

2023-02-18T23:49:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:49, 18 February 2023
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	{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}}		{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}}
			{{Unattributed Citations}}

	[[File:Coinbase.jpg\|thumb\|Coinbase]]Coinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phishing website and sending him a specifically targeted email about a transaction. After Joe completed the login, the hacker used the authentication to trigger withdrawals, rapidly emptying the account.		[[File:Coinbase.jpg\|thumb\|Coinbase]]Coinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phishing website and sending him a specifically targeted email about a transaction. After Joe completed the login, the hacker used the authentication to trigger withdrawals, rapidly emptying the account.

	This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.		This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.
			<ref name="abcactionnews-7774" /><ref name="investopedia-2222" /><ref name="bbc-2223" /><ref name="coinbase-4114" /><ref name="coinbase-4115" /><ref name="morioh-4116" /><ref name="blockchair-7778" /><ref name="mycryptomedium-9257" />

	== About Coinbase ==		== About Coinbase ==
Line 53:		Line 55:

	Don't Include:		Don't Include:

	* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.		* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
	* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.		* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
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	\|-		\|-
	\|April 7th, 2021 7:14:00 PM		\|April 7th, 2021 7:14:00 PM
	\|~~First~~ Event		\|Main Event
	\|~~This is an expanded~~ description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.		\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
	\|-
	\|
	\|
	\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	== Total Amount Lost ==		== Total Amount Lost ==
	The total amount lost ~~is unknown~~.		The total amount lost has been estimated at $503,000 USD.

	How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?		How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
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	== Total Amount Recovered ==		== Total Amount Recovered ==
	~~It is unknown how much was~~ recovered.		There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

	What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?		What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Line 114:		Line 111:

	== References ==		== References ==
	[https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/cryptocurrency-accounts-wiped-out-in-an-instant-by-cyber-crooks Cryptocurrency accounts wiped out 'in an instant' by cyber crooks] (Apr 10)		<references><ref name="abcactionnews-7774">[https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/cryptocurrency-accounts-wiped-out-in-an-instant-by-cyber-crooks Cryptocurrency accounts wiped out 'in an instant' by cyber crooks] (Apr 10, 2022)</ref>

	[https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ Coinbase Review 2021] (Aug 5)		<ref name="investopedia-2222">[https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ Coinbase Review 2021] (Aug 5, 2021)</ref>

	[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56750102 Crypto firm Coinbase valued at more than oil giant BP - BBC News] (Aug 5)		<ref name="bbc-2223">[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56750102 Crypto firm Coinbase valued at more than oil giant BP - BBC News] (Aug 5, 2021)</ref>

	[https://www.coinbase.com/ https://www.coinbase.com/] (Dec 3)		<ref name="coinbase-4114">[https://www.coinbase.com/ https://www.coinbase.com/] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>

	[https://www.coinbase.com/about https://www.coinbase.com/about] (Dec 3)		<ref name="coinbase-4115">[https://www.coinbase.com/about https://www.coinbase.com/about] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>

	[https://morioh.com/p/2490cc6cf89a Morioh] (Dec 3)		<ref name="morioh-4116">[https://morioh.com/p/2490cc6cf89a Morioh] (Dec 3, 2021)</ref>

	[https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 Bitcoin / Transaction / 4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 — Blockchair] (May 23)		<ref name="blockchair-7778">[https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 Bitcoin / Transaction / 4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 — Blockchair] (May 23, 2022)</ref>

	[https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d What To Do When Sim Swapping Happens To You] (Oct 14)		<ref name="mycryptomedium-9257">[https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d What To Do When Sim Swapping Happens To You] (Oct 14, 2022)</ref></references>

Azoundria: Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}} CoinbaseCoinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phi..."

2023-01-26T05:37:26Z

Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}} thumb|CoinbaseCoinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phi..."

New page

{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinbaseblumettiaccountsimswap.php}}

[[File:Coinbase.jpg|thumb|Coinbase]]Coinbase is the largest exchange platform in the United States. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Blumetti had invested proceeds from his family's beverage distribution business. After gaining access to his email account, the attacker was able to trick Joe into logging in and providing the two-factor authentication code using a phishing website and sending him a specifically targeted email about a transaction. After Joe completed the login, the hacker used the authentication to trigger withdrawals, rapidly emptying the account.

This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.

== About Coinbase ==
"Coinbase is a secure platform that makes it easy to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more." "As the leading mainstream cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Coinbase has become a standard on-ramp for new crypto investors. Coinbase offers a wide variety of products including cryptocurrency investing, an advanced trading platform, custodial accounts for institutions, a wallet for retail investors, and its own U.S. dollar stable-coin."

"Coinbase was founded in 2012 and is a fully regulated and licensed cryptocurrency exchange supporting all U.S. states except Hawaii. Coinbase initially only allowed for Bitcoin trading but quickly began adding cryptocurrencies that fit its decentralized criteria." "Its list expanded to include Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and many others with the promise of more as long as its requirements are met."

Joe "Blumetti invested proceeds from the sale of his family’s beverage distribution business into cryptocurrency."

"Dimitrelos says thieves used a hacked username and password from a security breach to enter Blumetti’s email account and identify him as a crypto trader."

“They knew he had the account. They knew what the username was. They were able to log in, but they still needed that challenge token, in this case, the PIN,” Dimitrelos said.

"So they set up a fake website that looked like it was from Coinbase and contacted him."

“What they told Joe was 'Hey, we saw you had an error in a transaction you had about a month ago' and they used that knowledge because they were in his email,” Dimitrelos said.

“The gentleman reached out to me through text and he called. And he sent me a screen that showed the Coinbase sign-in,” Blumetti said.

"That’s what tricked him into sending him his verification code."

“When I finally opened my computer and used my two-factor on my computer, all I saw was my account draining from its top-level, straight down,” Blumetti said.

"The first transaction transferred more than $500,000 worth of Bitcoin out of his account."

“I’m still not back in my account, so I cannot tell how bad the damage is, but it’s in the hundreds of thousands,” he said.

“This is by far not only the most unsuspected thing that’s ever happened to me that I didn’t see coming, but the worst,” Blumetti said.

"Over the past month, Joe says he sent Coinbase multiple emails trying to get help and received only generic responses." "Blumetti received messages from Coinbase saying the company wasn’t responsible for their losses."

“You steal someone’s gold and diamonds and if it’s found, they go to jail and you go home with your stuff. Why is it that Cryptocurrency, today’s number one growing asset, can be stolen, found and cannot be recouped?” Blumetti said.

"Coinbase acknowledges that these are terrible crimes that can have a significant impact on consumers. With more and more of our personal information available online, it is increasingly important for consumers to understand how to protect their personal email accounts and cell phones from unauthorized third parties. Once a third party gains access to a consumer’s email or phone, that consumer’s other online accounts may also be at risk. That is why Coinbase regularly works to educate our customers about how to protect their personal email accounts and phones -- it is the most important thing they can do to prevent unauthorized access to all of their online accounts, not just Coinbase. Coinbase takes extensive security measures to ensure our customer accounts remain as safe as possible. Our customers have never lost funds due to a security breach of our platform. In addition to educating our customers on best practices for securing their Coinbase accounts, Coinbase has a dedicated fraud investigations team and policy to ensure specialized support for our customers. The team is responsible for providing a coordinated approach to the identification, investigation, and resolution of fraudulent activities on the Coinbase platform. Because of these steps, unauthorized access to a Coinbase account remains extremely rare. When Ms. Vidovic and Mr. Blumetti emailed our support team to report possible unauthorized activity in their accounts, in both instances Coinbase responded within minutes and immediately locked their accounts to prevent any further unauthorized activity. Coinbase also offered step-by-step directions to both Ms. Vidovic and Mr. Blumetti to reconfirm identities and further secure their accounts. We are still in contact with both Ms. Vidovic and Mr. Blumetti at this time. Coinbase thoroughly investigates all incidents of unauthorized access to a Coinbase account, including Ms. Vidovic’s and Mr. Blumetti’s accounts."

This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

* Known history of when and how the service was started.
* What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
* What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
* Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
* Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
* How were people recruited to participate?
* Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

== The Reality ==
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

* When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
* Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
* How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
* Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

== What Happened ==
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key Event Timeline - Coinbase Blumetti Account Sim Swap
!Date
!Event
!Description
|-
|April 7th, 2021 7:14:00 PM
|First Event
|This is an expanded description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|}

== Total Amount Lost ==
The total amount lost is unknown.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

== Immediate Reactions ==
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

== Ultimate Outcome ==
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

== Total Amount Recovered ==
It is unknown how much was recovered.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

== Ongoing Developments ==
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

== Prevention Policies ==
It's recommended that platforms use factors that involve physical hardware, and more factors are always better to authenticate users.

Another strategy is to prevent withdrawals from accounts within a longer time period whenever a password is changed or there's a login from a suspicious location.

All of these methods can effectively reduce the ability to perform these types of attacks. The responsibility and incentive are shared between platform and user to prevent these situations.

== References ==
[https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/cryptocurrency-accounts-wiped-out-in-an-instant-by-cyber-crooks Cryptocurrency accounts wiped out 'in an instant' by cyber crooks] (Apr 10)

[https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ Coinbase Review 2021] (Aug 5)

[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56750102 Crypto firm Coinbase valued at more than oil giant BP - BBC News] (Aug 5)

[https://www.coinbase.com/ https://www.coinbase.com/] (Dec 3)

[https://www.coinbase.com/about https://www.coinbase.com/about] (Dec 3)

[https://morioh.com/p/2490cc6cf89a Morioh] (Dec 3)

[https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 Bitcoin / Transaction / 4fd09f8d2985123eecf5b3da1c7c551e89d0156f5df4bc0a2f957d029d4c72d1 — Blockchair] (May 23)

[https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d What To Do When Sim Swapping Happens To You] (Oct 14)