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The US Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Coinbase’s contracted customer service representatives in India, who accepted kickbacks in exchange for granting criminals access to user information.
According to a May 19 Bloomberg article, DOJ investigators are examining the data breach, which Coinbase made public on May 15. The exchange indicated that a group of customer support contractors — who were subsequently dismissed — “misused their access to […] systems to pilfer the account information of a small group of customers.”
“We have informed and are collaborating with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement bodies and support law enforcement’s pursuit of criminal activities against these unscrupulous individuals,” stated Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, according to Bloomberg.
Related: New Zealand individual detained in $265M crypto scam associated with FBI inquiry
Although “no passwords, private keys, or funds were compromised” according to Coinbase, the data breach led to social engineering schemes aimed at users, including a Sequoia Capital partner, with estimated losses reaching up to $400 million. The perpetrators also tried to extort $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for withholding information about the breach, which the company rejected.
Legal repercussions
The attempted social engineering schemes have led Coinbase users to file numerous lawsuits against the exchange, claiming that the firm mishandled their personal information. One user, a retired artist by the name of Ed Suman, reported a loss of $2 million to the fraudsters.
Following the breach announcement, Coinbase’s stock price experienced volatility, and an unrelated investigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its declared “verified user” figures. Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase for feedback but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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