Scammers Impersonating Coinbase Claim Exchange Supports XRP Staking

Users are advised to be cautious of emails making such claims, as Coinbase has not even indicated an interest in re-enabling XRP trading.

Coinbase is the latest target of a crypto-focused email phishing scam. Scammers pretending to be the American exchange have sent emails to users, claiming that the platform will launch an XRP staking program.

The scammers claimed that Coinbase was looking to provide support for XRP staking as a means to satisfy customer demands, according to an email shared by Leonidas, a notable YouTube influencer and XRP proponent who first called attention to the scam scheme.

Supposedly "@coinbase" has sent out this e-mail. Rest assured, this IS a scam. Be careful out there. pic.twitter.com/IKPLqWalc4

— Leonidas (@LeoHadjiloizou) April 4, 2023

Leonidas noted that the scammers sent similar emails to users to masquerade as Coinbase. The email claims that the XRP staking program will launch in a trial mode for its initial stages, with a higher APY between 19% and 27.2% for early users. 

Moreover, they mentioned that the trial phase would only be available for 9,900 participants. This is an attempt to appeal to the users’ sense of urgency to take advantage of unsuspecting investors quickly enough. 

The email concludes with a link supposedly meant to be used to apply for the staking program, indicating that the scam is an email phishing scheme. Users are advised against clicking links, even for curiosity’s sake, as they could contain malware.

The proliferation of crypto-focused scams has gained steam recently as the crypto industry continues to garner widespread attention and adoption. A report from the FBI revealed that losses from crypto-focused scams increased from $907 million in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022. These scams continue to target investors, and the fake Coinbase email is one of them.

Coinbase Position on Relisting XRP

It is important to note that while Coinbase still has XRP visible on its platform, the American exchange has not re-enabled trading or any crypto service for the asset. Coinbase has also not indicated any interest in re-enabling these services anytime soon despite agreeing with Ripple’s argument in the case against the U.S. SEC.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, revealed last month that even if the judge rules in favor of Ripple in the SEC case, Coinbase will still need to carry out its due diligence to assess the situation before re-enabling crypto services for the asset.