Retired Artist Loses $2M in Crypto to Fake Coinbase Site

Even the most security-conscious crypto users can fall victim to well-executed scams. A heartbreaking story from earlier this year reveals how a retired artist lost his entire digital fortune — worth $2 million — to criminals impersonating Coinbase support.

Seed Phrase Trap: Social Engineering at Its Worst

Ed Suman, a 67-year-old former fabricator for top artists like Jeff Koons, spent decades in the art world before shifting his focus to cryptocurrency investing. Over time, he amassed 17.5 Bitcoin (BTC) and 225 Ethereum (ETH) — the core of his retirement portfolio — stored safely in a Trezor Model One hardware wallet.

But in March, he received a text message that appeared to be from Coinbase, alerting him to suspicious account activity. He replied, and shortly afterward, a man calling himself “Brett Miller from Coinbase security” called him.

You Might Be Interested In: Elon Musk Talks About the Name of a New Memecoin!

The caller seemed legitimate, even referencing Suman’s use of a hardware wallet. Over the phone, he walked Suman through a supposed “security procedure,” which required him to enter his seed phrase into a site that perfectly mimicked Coinbase’s interface.

A second scam call came nine days later. After following the same process again, all of Suman’s crypto was gone.

Real Data Breach at Coinbase Raises Alarms

Coincidentally or not, Coinbase recently disclosed a data breach where attackers bribed Indian customer support contractors to access private user data — including names, account balances, and transaction histories.

Roughly 1% of monthly users were affected, including Sequoia Capital’s managing partner Roelof Botha. While no funds were confirmed stolen from him, the incident highlights growing concerns over third-party vulnerabilities.

Coinbase has since fired the compromised contractors and is planning to compensate affected users with a budget between $180 million and $400 million.

Hardware Wallets Are Not Foolproof

Suman’s tragic loss is a painful reminder: Seed phrases should never be entered into any website, regardless of how authentic it looks. The biggest threat in crypto isn’t always technology — it’s human manipulation.

You can also freely share your thoughts and comments about the topic in the comment section. Additionally, don’t forget to follow us on our Telegram, YouTube, and Twitter channels for the latest news and updates.