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The Police would like to alert members of the public on the increase in scam cases that involve cryptocurrency transfers. These were due primarily to Investment Scams, Job Scams and Government Officials Impersonation Scams. In 2025 alone, victims lost about $182.2 million in cryptocurrency. 

In most cases, the victims would chance upon advertisements relating to purported cryptocurrency-related “investments” or “job opportunities” on social media platforms. The scammers would direct the victims to create cryptocurrency accounts and purchase cryptocurrencies, either for “investment purposes” or to earn a “commission” in return for helping to boost the values of cryptocurrencies. The victims would subsequently be asked to transfer the cryptocurrencies to designated cryptocurrency wallets or share their account login credentials and seed phrases. These would allow the scammers to gain control and withdraw the victims’ cryptocurrencies. 

In other cases, the scammers would impersonate government officials and accuse the victims of being involved in criminal activities (e.g., money laundering). The victims would be instructed to create cryptocurrency accounts and transfer their cryptocurrencies to designated wallets for “investigation” or “safe-guarding”. 

The victims would realise that they had been scammed when they did not receive their “investment profits” or “commissions”, or when the victims sought verification with government agencies. 

Cryptocurrency transfers are non-reversible. Once the transfers are effected by the victims, it is highly challenging to recover the assets. The Police would like to remind members of the public to be wary of cryptocurrency investment propositions or job opportunities that promise overly lucrative returns. If an unknown person is teaching you how to create a cryptocurrency account, it is likely a scam. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies are unsuitable for retail consumers due to their lack of fundamental value.

Users of cryptocurrency platforms must NEVER provide seed phrases, wallet passphrases, private keys or any authentication codes to any persons. If you encounter such scams, you are advised to perform the following immediately:

1. Contact your cryptocurrency platform to halt further transactions or freeze your account.
2. Review and revoke any suspicious token approvals using applicable wallet interfaces.
3. If a wallet’s seed phrase is compromised, transfer all remaining cryptocurrencies in the compromised wallet to another wallet immediately. 
4. Report any fraudulent cryptocurrency phishing websites to CSA’s SingCERT at singcert@csa.gov.sg or via the incident reporting form at https://www.csa.gov.sg/singcert/reporting.

The Police would like to remind members of the public that Government officials will never ask members of the public to do the following over a phone call:
Ask you to transfer or hand over money, luxury watches, gold or cryptocurrency.

1. Ask you to disclose banking log-in details; 
2. Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; 
3. Transfer your call to Police

Additionally, members of the public are advised to adopt the following precautionary measures: 

ADD – Add the ScamShield app to block scam calls and filter scam messages. Set security features e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for banks and e-wallets to provide an additional layer of security to your online accounts. Check if your cryptocurrency platform offers a self-service kill switch to immediately block access to your account upon discovering any unauthorised access. 


1. CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources. You can check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg.  Always verify that you are logged into the official website of your cryptocurrency platform before providing any 2FA or MFA access code. Regularly monitor your wallets and accounts for unauthorised transactions by enabling account activity notifications if it is available on the platform. Check whether the entity is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) before making any investments. 
   
   
2. TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends.

If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!