Impersonation scams grew by over 1,400% in 2025. Scammers pretend to be from your bank, a government agency, or even Coinstash itself. They create urgency to trick you into moving your funds. In Australia, phishing and impersonation scams caused $19.5 million in losses in 2025.
Types of Impersonation Scams
Fake Exchange Support
You receive a call, email, or social media message from someone claiming to be "Coinstash Support." They say your account has been compromised and you need to move your funds to a "safe wallet" immediately. They may know your name and email. The "safe wallet" is the scammer's wallet.
Government Impersonation
You get a call or message from someone claiming to be the ATO, myGov, or the AFP. They say you owe taxes on your crypto and must pay immediately in cryptocurrency or face arrest. Government agencies will never demand crypto payments.
Bank Impersonation
Someone calls claiming to be from your bank, saying suspicious transactions have been detected. They ask you to "secure" your funds by transferring them to crypto — supposedly because it's "untraceable by the criminals." Your real bank will never ask you to buy crypto.
Friend or Family Impersonation
You receive a message from what appears to be a friend's or family member's account asking for urgent crypto help — "I'm stuck overseas", "I need to pay a bill urgently." Their account may have been hacked, or the scammer created a duplicate profile.
How Coinstash Actually Contacts You
Through the in-app chat (Intercom widget inside the Coinstash app or website)
Via email from @coinstash.com.au addresses only
We will NEVER contact you on Telegram, Discord, or social media DMs
We will NEVER ask you to transfer funds to an external wallet for "safety"
We will NEVER ask for your password or 2FA codes
We will NEVER threaten account closure unless you act immediately
Real-World Examples
Australians received SMS messages impersonating the ATO claiming crypto tax debts, with losses of $4 million reported to Scamwatch in 2024
A pensioner lost her life savings after scammers posing as "Microsoft Support" told her to move her money into Bitcoin via a crypto ATM for "protection"
Scammers created fake social media profiles of crypto exchanges and messaged customers offering "account upgrades" — collecting login details in the process
How to Protect Yourself
Hang up and call back — if someone calls claiming to be from Coinstash, your bank, or the government, hang up and contact them directly through their official website or app
Never click links in unexpected SMS messages or emails — type the URL directly
Check email sender addresses carefully (e.g. support@coinstash.com.au vs support@c0instash-help.com)
If someone says "don't tell anyone" or "this is confidential" — that's a scam tactic
Enable 2FA on all accounts and never share codes with anyone