SINGAPORE: More than 355 victims avoided losing over S$8.94 million to cryptocurrency scams in July and August thanks to a joint operation by the police and digital payment token (DPT) service providers.
In a statement on Thursday (Sept 3), the police said the fourth anti-cryptocurrency scam operation took place from July 1 to Aug 31.
The Singapore Police Force’s Cyber Command partnered DPT service providers, including Coinbase, Coinhako, DTCPay, Gemini, Independent Reserve, OKX, StraitsX and Upbit.
The police said officers conducted advanced blockchain analysis using tools from industry leaders Chainalysis and TRM Labs to identify victims of different types of scams, including government officials impersonation, investment and job scams.
Participating DPT service providers supplied customer information that helped to identify victims, allowing officers to intervene over the phone and in-person, preventing millions of dollars in losses.
The police said they also shared blockchain intelligence derived from the operation with foreign law enforcement counterparts, including the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybercrime Squad New South Wales Police Force.
This led to the identification of 50 overseas victims.
“The outcome of the fourth operation reaffirms the importance of sustained public-private partnerships and international collaboration in the fight against scams,” said the police.
“As scams continue to grow in sophistication and scale, the combination of the Cyber Command’s investigative and technical capabilities, support from DPT service providers, and cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies has proven to be an effective approach in detecting scam activities early and protecting members of the public from financial harm.”
The police said they will continue to cooperate closely with these partners and other stakeholders to combat cybercrime.
The police advised members of the public to protect themselves against scams by following steps spelled out in “ACT” – Add security features, Check for signs, and Tell the authorities and others about scams.
In June, the third anti-scam operation by the police and several cryptocurrency exchanges prevented more than 130 victims from losing over $2.9 million. - The Straits Times/ANN
