Coinbase Exchange Fought Global Spoofing Attack, Did It Win?

The digital currency market, worth about $3.43 trillion, remains a huge attraction for investors and traders alike. However, the sector also attracts the interest of actors engaged in different crypto scams, including spoofing schemes meant to manipulate the market, with users losing their funds.

Coinbase supports dismantling of global scam network

In a recent post, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, highlighted how the exchange has worked alongside authorities to combat spoofing.

Notably, in 2024, the global spoofing scheme led by Chirag Tomar was dismantled, largely due to support from Coinbase. Prior to this, Tomar had stolen over $20 million in cryptocurrency from users by pretending to be trusted exchange Coinbase.

One of the most high-impact cases we supported in 2024 involved the takedown of Chirag Tomar, who ran a global spoofing scheme that stole more than $20 million in crypto by impersonating @Coinbase. Here’s how we did it. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/4p8pOYjZFe

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) May 28, 2025

By impersonating Coinbase, Tomar sent out fake support emails, phishing links to fake websites and communication mimicking official Coinbase. These tactics were used to make victims trust the scam and hand over sensitive information used to compromise their accounts.

Grewal maintains that supporting authorities to take down Tomar remains one of the “most high-impact cases” Coinbase assisted with in 2024.

This signals the exchange’s commitment to protecting users from scammers and safeguarding their funds. It also highlights the exchange’s willingness to cooperate with law enforcement officials to reduce the incidence of crypto scams.

Is spoofing the new threat in crypto?

It appears that spoofing is the next big trend among malicious actors in the crypto space. Recently, as U.Today reported, Richard Teng, Binance CEO, warned members of the community to stay safe, as spoofing is ravaging the crypto ecosystem.

Teng emphasized that scammers could use SMS to trick users into releasing sensitive information, which could result in a loss of funds.

Interestingly, in 2024, a report by Chainalysis estimated losses due to various criminal activities related to cryptocurrency at $51.3 billion. This amount includes funds stolen from known hacks and illicit transfers from addresses.

Hence, community members have applauded Coinbase’s move to support law enforcement agents and minimize the occurrence of spoofing schemes.

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