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The Police would like to alert members of the public to a surge in technical support scam cases involving the impersonation of Microsoft and Crypto.com. Since May 2026, the Police have received at least 30 reports, with losses amounting to at least $1 million. In this scam variant, there is a similar pattern that exploits eight-digit telephone numbers beginning with the digit “3”. The modus operandi is illustrated in the table below. 

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 cryptocurrency users to NEVER disclose seed phrases, wallet passphrases, private keys or any authentication codes to any persons. 

Members of the public are advised to verify the authenticity of such alerts through your respective software providers’ official channels. Microsoft does not include phone numbers in its error or warning messages. If you encounter suspicious pop-up alerts, you should refrain from calling any numbers displayed, avoid clicking any links or buttons within the alerts, and close them by exiting the browser. Some pop-ups may cause your browser to enter full-screen mode. You can exit full-screen mode by pressing F11 (Windows) or the Escape key. If the pop-up cannot be closed, use Task Manager (Windows) to close the browser manually. 

Members of the public are also advised to take the following steps immediately if you believe you have fallen prey to such scams:

1. Disconnect your computer from the internet or power your computer off to prevent further unauthorised access;  
   
   
2. Remove any applications installed at the scammer's instructions; 
   
   
3. Perform a full anti-virus scan and delete any malware detected; 
   
   
4. If your bank accounts are found to be involved:
   
   Contact your bank to halt any unauthorised transactions; 
   
   
5. Change your account passwords and banking credentials using a separate trusted device; 
   
   
6. Remove any unauthorised payees added to your bank accounts; and 
   
   
7. If a cryptocurrency wallet or platform is involved:
   
   
8. Contact your cryptocurrency platform to halt further transactions or freeze your account.
   
   
9. Review and revoke any suspicious token approvals using applicable wallet interfaces.
   
   
10. If a wallet’s seed phrase is compromised, transfer all remaining cryptocurrencies in the compromised wallet to another wallet immediately.
    
    
11. 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 also like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures to protect themselves against scams: 

1. ADD - ScamShield App and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for bank accounts and set transaction limits on internet banking transactions. Add a Money Lock feature to further secure savings in bank accounts from scams). 
   
   
2. CHECK – Make sure you only purchase concert tickets from authorised concert ticket sellers. Call and check with the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if you are unsure if something is a scam. You can also check the legitimacy of suspicious phone numbers, messages and website links through the ScamShield App.
   
   
3. TELL - Authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent advertisements to the social media and e-commerce platforms.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community.