CoinGecko CEO Warns of Fake Crypto Summit Scam via Booking.com

The fake invitation featured Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong as speakers for a non-existent summit in Dubai.

Bobby Ong, the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko, has issued a public warning about a new phishing scam.

The fraudulent scheme uses fake emails purporting to come from Booking.com, inviting recipients to a non-existent ‘Exclusive Crypto Travel Summit’ in Dubai.

A misleading invitation

The phishing attempt, which Approximately shared on social media presented itself as a legitimate conference announcement, with the fake email claiming that Booking.com and Coinbase have formed a strategic partnership to launch a crypto travel service.

It listed an impressive number of keynote speakers, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, for an event believed to take place in November 2025.

A major red flag is that the RSVP deadline for this future event was historically set at September 30, 2025, which indicated recycled or hastily constructed scam content.

Ong advised anyone who received such an email to delete it immediately and urged Booking.com to escalate the issue to the security team.

The official Booking.com account later recognized raised the issue in a reply to Ong’s message, saying, “We’re sorry to hear you’re receiving fake emails,” and requesting details via direct message to investigate.

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A persistent threat in crypto

This incident is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of scams targeting crypto users. In September, Binance issued two separate warnings about different types of fraud.

In the first version, the exchange warned the public about fake listing agents who allegedly promised projects a place on the platform for a fee.

A few days later, company CEO Richard Teng reported a phone scam involving impersonators posing as customer service representatives. He said the fake helpers then guided users through changing their account’s API settings, a process that allowed the scammer to steal money.

The community’s response to Ong’s warning was one of recognition and frustration. One social media user, SkylineETH, commented on the increasing complexity of these schemes, writing: “appreciate the warning, these scams continue to rise.”

Another user, Kevin Lee, expressed a common concern, wondering if there was a better way to handle email security and prevent even clicking on “unsubscribe” links in suspicious newsletters. This sentiment was echoed by Ong, who noted that the hostile nature of the crypto world requires people to carefully check every email they receive.