Ed Suman, a retired artist with a successful career creating high-profile art pieces like Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog sculptures, lost nearly $2 million worth of cryptocurrency following a sophisticated impersonation scam. The incident highlights the increasing vulnerability of crypto holders to scams that leverage trusted brand names like Coinbase. Suman discovered he had been targeted after receiving text messages from someone claiming to be a Coinbase support representative and was then tricked into revealing his seed phrase, allowing the scammer to steal his funds. Suman’s holdings were taken down over multiple calls with seemingly knowledgeable individuals impersonating Coinbase security representatives. 17.5 Bitcoin (BTC) and 225 Ether (ETH), which represented the majority of his retirement savings, were stolen through this elaborate scheme that exploited the vulnerable trust in a familiar brand name.