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Need advice on (probable) Coinbase account being hacked (hexbear.net)

submitted 3 weeks ago by ratboy@hexbear.net to c/technology@hexbear.net

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So I don't know shit about Crypto, but someone I know may have had their stuff hacked recently (sounds like there was a breach a week ago). They haven't been able to get back into their account and the whole thing sounds fishy from an outsider perspective so I wanna get someone else's thoughts on how to approach this because I think they are being seriously hacked and that someone might possibly be trying to steal their identity.

This person reached out to customer support and provided the appropriate documentation after locking their account, but this person said that they submitted the docs over and over, and for whatever reason the person they have been in contact with has not yet verified that the documentation is sufficient. This supposed customer service rep sounds like they, for whatever reason, have access to this person's entire browsing history and told them the last time that they logged on to their email account, social media, etc. This person also told me that at some point since this all began, that the cursor on the desktop started moving independently, and that some weird shit started updating or downloading. They are totally distraught so that's pretty much the only information I have...And I don't know what to do with it but I want to help. So if anyone has any info/advice on the coinbase issue, or someone possibly having hacked the desktop I would super appreciate it

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[–] edge@hexbear.net 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Definitely sounds like someone has control of their computer. They should immediately force shut it down, unpower it, and disconnect it from any network connection. If they have no physical way to sever the network connection on the computer itself, unplug the modem/router it was connected to. Really any wifi device it might automatically connect to. Turn off hotspot on their phone.

Next they should immediately change all of their passwords, starting with email since pretty much every other login can be bypassed with a "forgot password" email. Make sure they weren't tricked into installing something on their phone before, or do it from some other device that can't possibly be compromised. Assuming they have a gmail account these are the steps to recover it.
They should use KeePass (fully on device, encrypted by a master password) or Bitwarden (saves to Bitwarden's servers so you can access it from anywhere and don't risk losing the file if a device is damaged, also encrypted by a master password) to generate and store unique random passwords for each site. The master password will need to be something they can remember, but not anything even close to any passwords they may have used in the past. Again make sure that's all done on a non-compromised device and if using Bitwarden make sure the email account used to sign up is fully under their control.

Back up any important files and don't reconnect the computer until it has been fully wiped and reinstalled.

They probably got phished into calling a fake "customer support" number. Depending on the sequence of events, it's likely they got a scam text saying their account was compromised or something and giving the fake number then when they called they might have been asked to run some program, possibly remote desktop software.

If the scammers already got into their coinbase account and transferred the crypto out, there's most likely nothing they can do there. Crypto transactions can't be reversed. The actual customer support number seems to be +1 (888) 908-7930 so they can call that for help.

[–] ratboy@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

Okay perfect, those were going to be my first suggestions, I at least made sure that they shut their computer down completely and am going to have them change pw's and everything including creating a bit warden account in the morning. I asked how they got set up with this "rep", and supposedly it was through the help center on coin base, but I could even see someone just spoofing the hotline number if they were monitoring what the person was doing. Luckily they locked their account and theyve gotten a ton of calls from this "rep", so I don't think they have transferred the money. How stressful, glad I don't use that shit because it seems to get hacked all the time. Thank you for the info