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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Hackers are now targeting cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and leaving investors without access to their bitcoin.
As interest in cryptocurrency continues to grow, the safety and security of investment applications are called into question.
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CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge spoke to a man from Long Island whose bitcoin is now in limbo.
“I think my account has been hacked. It had to be, ”said Frank Pinto.
Pinto started investing in bitcoin in 2017.
He used an app called Coinbase, which is like a cryptocurrency exchange.
A few months ago, he tried to log in and got an alert saying, “Sorry, the account is temporarily disabled. Please contact support.
He tried, but Coinbase doesn’t have phone support so he has emailed dozens of times. They finally responded by saying, “You will receive a response from the Customer Complaints Manager within 15 business days.”
Pinto then received a call from someone claiming to be from Coinbase and allowed him to remotely access his computer. He later learned that he was a hacker.
“So they’ve… taken all of these actions that you think are legitimate. At one point, through this remote access, they told me, “You should log into your bank account because it’s associated with your Coinbase account,” Pinto said. “And that’s when I went into panic mode and said, no, no, it’s definitely a BS call.”
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But it was too late. Pinto says a hacker managed to withdraw hundreds of dollars from his regular bank account, which was eventually returned to him. But he still cannot access his Coinbase account, which is frozen with over $ 20,000.
Duddridge spoke with tech expert Ian Marlow, along with FitechGelb.
“Are Coinbase and other crypto exchanges safe to use? ” she asked.
“I think the jury is obviously on it. It’s exciting… The legal department needs to catch up with technology, ”said Marlow. “Then people will start to look at situations like this and say that regulation will become important. “
Until then, Marlow says it’s up to consumers to understand the risks associated with investing in unregulated assets.
“Would you use Coinbase again after this?” Duddridge asked Pinto.
“I’m not comfortable with it now, so probably not,” he said.
Since we can’t call them, we emailed Coinbase and got no response.
Their website says clients’ “money” is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, but Pinto is still waiting to see if he ever sees him again.
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Technical experts say never give anyone access to your passwords or information, and if a business calls you, always ask for a call back.
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