There are two main reasons why the Coinbase platform is making headlines in the crypto press. Its leading position in the market associated with its IPO. Or the repeated crashes of his website that constantly strike exasperated users. Because the historical giant of the cryptocurrency universe is clearly not the first in all fields. And recent cases report deplorable customer service in the face of repeated account hacks. When it’s not just false alerts that are mistakenly sent to tens of thousands of accounts…
Users of the Coinbase exchange should have a well-hung heart and a foolproof stress management ability. Because its website is known to have the ability to crash every time at the worst possible time. That is, as soon as the cryptocurrency market gets busy. And that it is necessary – see imperative – to access his portfolio to put his buy or sell orders in place. Various and varied bugs that do not spare other platforms like Binance, but this in a less systematic way. And whose only real advantage could be summed up in allowing to limit some devastating panic movements.
An observation that could become the real Achilles heel of this Coinbase platform with record performance. This with profits estimated at $ 1.6 billion for the second quarter of this year. And a quantity of cryptocurrencies held in its coffers that represents no less than 11% of the market capitalization of this market. Figures that allow to estimate the strike force of this giant of the sector. But which are unfortunately commensurate with the shortcomings encountered by its customer management service. The latter considered simply close to the most total unsanitary.
Coinbase vs unhappy users
This is a stark finding that follows a recent survey conducted by the financial news site CNBC. And whose first word that comes to impose itself in its title boils down to “appalling”. This is largely due to what appears to be a campaign to hack the accounts of its customers. The latter emptied of their entire content following fraudulent takeovers. Which would not necessarily be as catastrophic if it were possible to reach a customer service to intervene quickly. But the problem is there : it is almost impossible to successfully get in touch with this kind of service on the Coinbase website. And its poor users are mostly left alone in the face of their losses and without news for weeks.
A survey that notes that since 2016, more than 11,000 complaints have been filed against Coinbase. Proceedings with U.S. financial fraud authorities, such as the Federal Trade Commission or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Because this study only focuses on Coinbase users domiciled in the United States. This is not to say that these kinds of problems remain siloed at physical borders, especially in the digital field.
SIM card fraud
A fraud system that would be based on a SIM card change procedure. This is the result of a request made directly to the operator of the targeted user. And whose implementation, however unjustified, does not seem to pose a problem. This ultimately allows you to take control of the phone number of the latter. With the goal of using it to access the accounts linked to it in order to empty the contents. A procedure that takes only a few tens of minutes at most through the smartphone application of Coinbase. But what can be his responsibility in this case ?
« There is no credible or justifiable evidence that the compromise of your login credentials was Coinbase’s fault. ( … ) As a result, Coinbase is unable to reimburse you for your alleged losses. “- Coinbase
Of course, not everything can be Coinbase’s fault. But it seems that the security of its users ‘ funds is clearly to be reviewed. And that the denial applied by its customer service to these hacking cases can be imagined in a version more focused on this notion of ” service “. If only for the strategic purpose of retaining its customers. Or at least provide them with the simple support necessary in this type of situation.
False hacking alert sows panic
Especially since a recent case has just shaken this platform decidedly more eager to go public than to improve its internal procedures. The result is the flight of some of its users and the loss of funds for others. And this time it will not be possible to say that it is not da fault. Because all this follows the erroneous sending of a security alert email to 125,000 of its users. The latter informing them of a possible reset of their passwords. All in relation to a modification of their 2FA authentication security parameters. Which in common parlance comes down to: your account has just been hacked and all your access canceled.
An announcement that obviously gave rise to a real panic. And that had the consequence of triggering cryptocurrency sales in a hurry. Or actual account blockages as a result of reckless manipulation. The worst part being that many people simply could not access their funds for several days after this incident. With this certainty in mind that their cryptocurrency holdings were being stolen.
And in order to calm the spirits, Coinbase customer service decided to offer the payment of $ 100 in Bitcoin. This to the 125,000 customers affected by sending this decidedly very expensive email. Compensation that some say they still haven’t received. And who may have trouble passing a pill that is increasingly difficult to swallow for its excess users. For loyalty is not bought, it is earned. A phrase that should be displayed big in Coinbase’s ghost customer service office !
