Inside the $4M Heist: How a New York Scammer Outfoxed Coinbase Users

A slick operator just pulled off a crypto con for the ages—lining pockets with millions while leaving Coinbase users holding the bag.

Here's how the scam unfolded.

The $4 Million Swipe

No fancy tech, no blockchain exploits—just old-school social engineering with a crypto twist. The scammer exploited trust gaps in the system, proving once again that the weakest link isn't in the code... it's human.

Coinbase Left Playing Catch-Up

While the platform scrambles to plug holes, victims are left wondering why their 'secure' exchange didn't see this coming. Another reminder that in crypto, you're often your own last line of defense.

And in true Wall Street fashion—where there's money moving, there's always someone ready to 'help' it change hands.

What Are Coinbase Impersonation Scams?

ZachXBT, one of the industry’s biggest sleuths, has been following this complex scamming operation for several months. In a recent social media thread, he detailed the methods used in this Coinbase impersonation scam.

The scammer “Daytwo” managed to steal $240,000 from one target in 2024, allowing ZachXBT to map out his whole pattern of money laundering.

1/ An investigation into how the New York based social engineering scammer Daytwo/PawsOnHips (Christian Nieves) stole $4M+ from Coinbase users by impersonating customer support, bought luxury goods, and lost most of the funds gambling at casinos. pic.twitter.com/7PsP8ymPtO

Over the past several months, an epidemic of scams has targeted Coinbase’s customers. ZachXBT himself identified $6.5 million stolen by thieves impersonating Coinbase Support last November.

By February, he estimated that $150 million had been stolen in similar impersonation gambits. The exchange suffered a major data leak last month, possibly enabling further crimes.

Compared to many of his regular targets, ZachXBT showed surprising open contempt for Daytwo. He was able to determine the Coinbase scammer’s real name (Christian Nieves) and even obtained a photo of his driver’s license.

The fact that Nieves persistently taunted him during the investigation couldn’t help this perception.

Moreover, Nieves managed to lose almost all his ill-gotten gains to gambling, expensive watches, bottle service, etc. Additionally, his gambling habit became a serious problem, causing him to avoid paying accomplices because he lost their share of the heists in casinos.

All in all, the prevailing tone was surprise that such an amateurish operation could prove so successful. ZachXBT even found recordings of Nieves discussing his money laundering operations on camera.

There’s a mountain of incriminating evidence that Nieves carried out these Coinbase scams.

“It’s rare we see a social engineering scammer with such blatant disregard to mask their identity while flexing stolen funds all over social media. It’s a rather easy case for law enforcement to pursue. Sadly, any recovery for victims is likely a small amount, given the funds were mostly gambled away after thefts,” ZachXBT claimed.

Coinbase impersonation scams are on the rise, and Nieves didn’t employ much technical skill to fool his targets. Leaked user data is readily available, and he used social engineering to con users into transferring their funds to compromised wallets.

Apparently, Nieves managed to defraud at least 30 Coinbase users in this fashion, mostly using guile.

All that is to say, we’re certainly in a “crypto crime supercycle” right now. crypto users should remain vigilant, as crimes like this can net millions.

Sophisticated hacks are very dangerous, but clumsy social engineering gambits can drain your wallets just as easily.