J0hnn13 Br4v0’s story

I'm still reeling from this, but I need to get the story out there because it’s honestly terrifying how easily it happened. I opened my Coinbase app like I always do, but this time there was a message saying my account was suspended. It told me to call a specific support number. Since the message was right there inside the actual app after I’d signed in, I didn't think twice. I called it.

A guy answered and acted like he was going to help me fix everything. He told me to get on my computer and log in, and that's when I saw $3,000 was already gone. I panicked. He told me someone in San Diego had hacked me and asked if he could remote into my computer to install updates to secure the account. Like an idiot, I said yes. A blue screen popped up saying a download was in progress.

Then he tells me Coinbase is going to replace the money, but says it isn't safe to put it back into Coinbase yet. He asked where else I could take it, so I suggested PayPal. He had me log in, then claimed the transfer was rejected and told me we'd have to wait a week to try again. He specifically told me not to log into my PayPal for seven days until he called me back.

At that point, I knew something was wrong. I didn't wait. I logged in and saw $24,999 had been drained from my crypto account.

The crazy part is the guy kept calling me every couple of days to check in and remind me not to look at my accounts. I finally just lost it and told him I knew he was the hacker and that he stole $28,000 from me. He just kept lying, saying everything would be fine and he’d fix it on Monday.

When Monday came, he called again and asked me to open my computer. My computer was on, and even though I wasn't logged into any accounts, I watched my mouse start moving on its own. He still had a backdoor into my system and was clearly trying to take whatever was left. I just shut the whole thing down immediately. He actually asked me why I did that, and I told him I knew exactly what he was doing.

Even after that, he wouldn't stop. He kept calling and texting me. I spent the next few weeks talking to Coinbase, PayPal, the police, and even the FBI. Everyone told me the same thing. Since the transfer came from my computer, it looked like I did it myself. The cops said they couldn't or wouldn't track anything once it went out of the country.

So that’s it. I’m out $28,000 and there's no joy to be had. A friend told me it was probably a ghost site that looked like the real app. I honestly don't know, but I'm done. Be careful out there.