Coin-Ether Coinbase Ethereum Doubling Offer: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "{{Imported Case Study 2|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinethercoinbaseethereumdoublingoffer.php}} {{Unattributed Sources}} thumb|Coin-Ether WebsiteWhat could go wrong with an "official" Ethereum give-away of 40,000 ETH? After all, it was accompanied by a video of an interview between Brian Armstrong and Vitalik Buterin and had a premium domain name. After several users sent a total of 6.003026 ETH, unsurprisingly the...")
 
(Initial 30 minutes. All sources integrated.)
 
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{{Imported Case Study 2|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinethercoinbaseethereumdoublingoffer.php}}
{{Imported Case Study 2|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/coinethercoinbaseethereumdoublingoffer.php}}[[File:Coinethergiveaway.jpg|thumb|Coin-Ether Website]]What could go wrong with an "official" Ethereum give-away of 40,000 ETH? After all, it was accompanied by a video of an interview between Brian Armstrong and Vitalik Buterin and had a premium domain name. After several users sent a total of 6.003026 ETH, unsurprisingly they received nothing back.
{{Unattributed Sources}}


[[File:Coinethergiveaway.jpg|thumb|Coin-Ether Website]]What could go wrong with an "official" Ethereum give-away of 40,000 ETH? After all, it was accompanied by a video of an interview between Brian Armstrong and Vitalik Buterin and had a premium domain name. After several users sent a total of 6.003026 ETH, unsurprisingly they received nothing back.
== About Coinbase ==


This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.<ref name="redditold-10726" /><ref name="redditold-10727" /><ref name="etherscan-10728" /><ref name="etherscan-10729" /><ref name="coinetherarchive-10730" /><ref name="coinmarketcap-4651" />


== About Coinbase ==
== About Coin-Ether Giveaway ==
"We are launching a massive ETH giveaway to celebrate a major upgrade to the Ethereum project. Hurry up and take! Visit our website: coin-ether.net"
The website coin-ether.net announced a giveaway of 40,000 ETH to celebrate the major upgrade to the Ethereum project. To participate, users needed to send 0.5 ETH to 500 ETH to the contribution address and they will immediately receive back 1 ETH to 1,000 ETH (x2) to the address they sent it from. The giveaway is a one-time participation event and the outgoing transaction is processed immediately to the participant's address. Users can use any wallet or exchange to participate, and late transactions will be immediately returned<ref name="coinetherarchive-10730" />.<blockquote>"We are launching a massive ETH giveaway to celebrate a major upgrade to the Ethereum project. Hurry up and take! Visit our website: coin-ether.net"


"Official Ethereum event 40,000 ETH. We believe that after the London hard fork EIP-1559, the Ethereum coin will cost $ 10,000 per coin. To speed up the process of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, we decided to launch the distribution of 40,000 ETH. giveaway."
"Official Ethereum event 40,000 ETH. We believe that after the London hard fork EIP-1559, the Ethereum coin will cost $ 10,000 per coin. To speed up the process of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, we decided to launch the distribution of 40,000 ETH. giveaway."
Line 21: Line 19:
"Once we receive your transaction, we will immediately send the requested amount back to you."
"Once we receive your transaction, we will immediately send the requested amount back to you."


"Every address that is sent too late, gets their ETH immediately sent back."
"Every address that is sent too late, gets their ETH immediately sent back."</blockquote>
 
"Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming by Cactoos in ethereum"
 
"This is on youtube but they wont do anything..."
 
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
 
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 ==
== The Reality ==
Line 64: Line 39:
|October 31st, 2021 7:43:22 AM MDT
|October 31st, 2021 7:43:22 AM MDT
|First Transaction Sent
|First Transaction Sent
|The first blockchain transaction is recorded.
|The first blockchain transaction is recorded<ref name="etherscan-10729" />.
|-
|October 31st, 2021 7:56:55 AM MDT
|Second Transaction Sent
|A second blockchain transaction<ref name=":0">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0xebb48b668a323396ff83fe61b96937839ec2c826ae98b546bba00da9aacb6a5f Ethereum Transaction Victim #2 - Etherscan] (May 5th, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|October 31st, 2021 8:41:35 AM MDT
|Largest Transaction Sent
|The largest blockchain transaction is sent, for a total of 2.5 ETH. This is also the only victim from a self-hosted wallet<ref name=":1">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x1aa1a41a4d64a068f9cd923c537edbcda774cbd66c558977cea7a16cd887cd2e Ethereum Transaction Victim #4 - Etherscan] (May 5, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|October 31st, 2021 8:46:34 AM MDT
|Reddit Thread Started
|A discussion about the video is started on Reddit<ref name="redditold-10727" />.
|-
|October 31st, 2021 9:11:14 AM MDT
|Fifth Transaction Sent
|The fifth and final transaction, approximately 30 minutes after the video was first reported on Reddit<ref name=":2">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0xa3edcdeddc5eb5ebc751237b63d63cdec461da2e253ace95027701f3fdd3d4b7 Ethereum Transaction Victim #5 - Etherscan] (May 5, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|November 1st, 2021 4:39:18 AM MDT
|Sixth Transaction Sent
|Another victim sends funds from CoinBase. This transaction happened significantly after the others<ref name=":3">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x9dd4094499816b6aa16a84d4c063cea59f9ab175843fdbbf4a7d183346272d69 Ethereum Transaction Victim #6 - Etherscan] (May 5, 2023)</ref>, suggesting that perhaps this person had left the site open for a long time, or perhaps this was part of a second iteration of the scam.
|}
|}


Line 71: Line 66:


== Total Amount Lost ==
== Total Amount Lost ==
The total amount lost has been estimated at $26,000 USD.
A total of 6 transactions were made to the attacker's wallet<ref name="etherscan-10728" />.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Victim #
!Time
!Amount
!Exchange
!Additional Information
|-
|1<ref name="etherscan-10729" />
|Oct 31st 7:43:22 AM MDT
|0.505 ETH
|Binance
|
|-
|2<ref name=":0" />
|Oct 31st 7:56:55 AM MDT
|0.5 ETH
|Coinbase
|
|-
|3<ref>[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x94df8871df5f550a455bb4ba4bad49e2ede4a67bf311600e7bbb94d82dfe04d0 Ethereum Transaction Victim #3 - Etherscan] (May 5, 2023)</ref>
|Oct 31st 8:38:43 AM MDT
|1 ETH
|Coinbase
|
|-
|4<ref name=":1" />
|Oct 31st 8:41:35 AM MDT
|2.5 ETH
|None
|Self-hosted wallet.
|-
|5<ref name=":2" />
|Oct 31st 9:11:14 AM MDT
|1 ETH
|Coinbase
|
|-
|6<ref name=":3" />
|Nov 1st 4:39:18 AM MDT
|0.498026 ETH
|Coinbase
|
|}
The total amount adds up to 6.003026 ETH. <ref name="coinmarketcap-4651" /> lost has been estimated at $26,000 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?
Line 77: Line 117:
== Immediate Reactions ==
== 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?
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?
=== Reactions on Reddit ===
A thread was established on Reddit to report on the situation<ref name="redditold-10727" />. Many users commented<ref name="redditold-10726" /><ref>[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/hitzohc/ superthrust - "I’ve seen tons of Youtubers getting their channels hacked in overnight getting taken over by these types of scams. When they reach out to YouTube support, YouTube will just paste them a canned macro response that is laughable at best." - Reddit] (May 5, 2023)</ref> and reported the situation to YouTube and CoinBase<ref>[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/hirr3pi/ Jon_Hanson - "Report it to security@coinbase.com." - Reddit] (May 5, 2023)</ref>.<blockquote>"Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming by Cactoos in ethereum"</blockquote><blockquote>"This is on youtube but they wont do anything..."</blockquote><blockquote>They already got like 5 eth :(</blockquote><blockquote>I’ve seen tons of Youtubers getting their channels hacked in overnight getting taken over by these types of scams. When they reach out to YouTube support, YouTube will just paste them a canned macro response that is laughable at best.</blockquote>One user decided to make a funny joke that he would "take it down" due to his alleged intimate relationship with Susan Wojcicki, YouTube's CEO at the time<ref>[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/hirrbha/ Styx1213 - "ok I will take it down.." - Reddit] (May 5, 2023)</ref>.<blockquote>ok I will take it down..</blockquote>


== Ultimate Outcome ==
== Ultimate Outcome ==
Line 106: Line 149:


== References ==
== References ==
<references><ref name="redditold-10726">[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/hirra8u/ nebra1 comments on Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming] (Sep 28, 2022)</ref>
<references>
 
<ref name="redditold-10726">[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/hirra8u/ nebra1 comments on Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming] (Sep 28, 2022)</ref>
<ref name="redditold-10727">[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/ Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming : ethereum] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="redditold-10727">[https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/qjqzxq/please_help_to_take_down_this_scammers_currently/ Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming : ethereum - Reddit] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
 
<ref name="etherscan-10728">[https://etherscan.io/address/0x7cbac76a437105DEf9f169354B009BFfffF507B5 The Attacker's Address - Etherscan] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="etherscan-10728">[https://etherscan.io/address/0x7cbac76a437105DEf9f169354B009BFfffF507B5 Address 0x7cbac76a437105DEf9f169354B009BFfffF507B5 | Etherscan] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="etherscan-10729">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x84bdade1208115ff506234e02331b089b2911be989cc9d796d3e547568fee418 Ethereum Transaction Victim #1 - Etherscan] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
 
<ref name="etherscan-10729">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x84bdade1208115ff506234e02331b089b2911be989cc9d796d3e547568fee418 Ethereum Transaction Hash (Txhash) Details | Etherscan] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
 
<ref name="coinetherarchive-10730">[https://web.archive.org/web/20211031135037/http://coin-ether.net/ Ethereum Giveway] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="coinetherarchive-10730">[https://web.archive.org/web/20211031135037/http://coin-ether.net/ Ethereum Giveway] (May 2, 2023)</ref>
 
<ref name="coinmarketcap-4651">https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/ (Dec 21, 2021)</ref>
<ref name="coinmarketcap-4651">[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/] (Dec 21, 2021)</ref></references>
</references>

Latest revision as of 12:12, 5 May 2023

Notice: This page is a freshly imported case study from the original repository. The original content was in a different format, and may not have relevant information for all sections. Please help restructure the content by moving information from the 'About' and 'General Prevention' sections to other sections, and add any missing information or sources you can find. If you are new here, please read General Tutorial on Wikis or Anatomy of a Case Study for help getting started.

Coin-Ether Website

What could go wrong with an "official" Ethereum give-away of 40,000 ETH? After all, it was accompanied by a video of an interview between Brian Armstrong and Vitalik Buterin and had a premium domain name. After several users sent a total of 6.003026 ETH, unsurprisingly they received nothing back.

About Coinbase

About Coin-Ether Giveaway

The website coin-ether.net announced a giveaway of 40,000 ETH to celebrate the major upgrade to the Ethereum project. To participate, users needed to send 0.5 ETH to 500 ETH to the contribution address and they will immediately receive back 1 ETH to 1,000 ETH (x2) to the address they sent it from. The giveaway is a one-time participation event and the outgoing transaction is processed immediately to the participant's address. Users can use any wallet or exchange to participate, and late transactions will be immediately returned[1].

"We are launching a massive ETH giveaway to celebrate a major upgrade to the Ethereum project. Hurry up and take! Visit our website: coin-ether.net"

"Official Ethereum event 40,000 ETH. We believe that after the London hard fork EIP-1559, the Ethereum coin will cost $ 10,000 per coin. To speed up the process of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, we decided to launch the distribution of 40,000 ETH. giveaway."

"During this unique event we will give you a chance to win 40,000 ETH, have a look at the rules and don't miss on your chance! You can only participate once!"

"To participate you just need to send from 0.5 ETH to 500 ETH to the contribution address and we will immediately send you back 1 ETH to 1,000 ETH (x2) to the address you sent it from."

"To make a transaction, you can use any wallet or exchange to participate!"

"Once we receive your transaction, the outgoing transaction is processed to your address."

"Once we receive your transaction, we will immediately send the requested amount back to you."

"Every address that is sent too late, gets their ETH immediately sent back."

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.

Key Event Timeline - Coin-Ether Coinbase Ethereum Doubling Offer
Date Event Description
October 31st, 2021 7:43:22 AM MDT First Transaction Sent The first blockchain transaction is recorded[2].
October 31st, 2021 7:56:55 AM MDT Second Transaction Sent A second blockchain transaction[3].
October 31st, 2021 8:41:35 AM MDT Largest Transaction Sent The largest blockchain transaction is sent, for a total of 2.5 ETH. This is also the only victim from a self-hosted wallet[4].
October 31st, 2021 8:46:34 AM MDT Reddit Thread Started A discussion about the video is started on Reddit[5].
October 31st, 2021 9:11:14 AM MDT Fifth Transaction Sent The fifth and final transaction, approximately 30 minutes after the video was first reported on Reddit[6].
November 1st, 2021 4:39:18 AM MDT Sixth Transaction Sent Another victim sends funds from CoinBase. This transaction happened significantly after the others[7], suggesting that perhaps this person had left the site open for a long time, or perhaps this was part of a second iteration of the scam.

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

A total of 6 transactions were made to the attacker's wallet[8].

Victim # Time Amount Exchange Additional Information
1[2] Oct 31st 7:43:22 AM MDT 0.505 ETH Binance
2[3] Oct 31st 7:56:55 AM MDT 0.5 ETH Coinbase
3[9] Oct 31st 8:38:43 AM MDT 1 ETH Coinbase
4[4] Oct 31st 8:41:35 AM MDT 2.5 ETH None Self-hosted wallet.
5[6] Oct 31st 9:11:14 AM MDT 1 ETH Coinbase
6[7] Nov 1st 4:39:18 AM MDT 0.498026 ETH Coinbase

The total amount adds up to 6.003026 ETH. [10] lost has been estimated at $26,000 USD.

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

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?

Reactions on Reddit

A thread was established on Reddit to report on the situation[5]. Many users commented[11][12] and reported the situation to YouTube and CoinBase[13].

"Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming by Cactoos in ethereum"

"This is on youtube but they wont do anything..."

They already got like 5 eth :(

I’ve seen tons of Youtubers getting their channels hacked in overnight getting taken over by these types of scams. When they reach out to YouTube support, YouTube will just paste them a canned macro response that is laughable at best.

One user decided to make a funny joke that he would "take it down" due to his alleged intimate relationship with Susan Wojcicki, YouTube's CEO at the time[14].

ok I will take it down..

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

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?

Ongoing Developments

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

General Prevention Policies

Know the common scam tactics. Always validate any information against official sources. Never make a rushed transaction to send any funds.

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.

References

  1. ↑ Ethereum Giveway (May 2, 2023)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ethereum Transaction Victim #1 - Etherscan (May 2, 2023)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ethereum Transaction Victim #2 - Etherscan (May 5th, 2023)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ethereum Transaction Victim #4 - Etherscan (May 5, 2023)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming : ethereum - Reddit (May 2, 2023)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ethereum Transaction Victim #5 - Etherscan (May 5, 2023)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ethereum Transaction Victim #6 - Etherscan (May 5, 2023)
  8. ↑ The Attacker's Address - Etherscan (May 2, 2023)
  9. ↑ Ethereum Transaction Victim #3 - Etherscan (May 5, 2023)
  10. ↑ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/ (Dec 21, 2021)
  11. ↑ nebra1 comments on Please help to take down this scammers, currently live streaming (Sep 28, 2022)
  12. ↑ superthrust - "I’ve seen tons of Youtubers getting their channels hacked in overnight getting taken over by these types of scams. When they reach out to YouTube support, YouTube will just paste them a canned macro response that is laughable at best." - Reddit (May 5, 2023)
  13. ↑ Jon_Hanson - "Report it to security@coinbase.com." - Reddit (May 5, 2023)
  14. ↑ Styx1213 - "ok I will take it down.." - Reddit (May 5, 2023)
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