Claudia Tan
The Straits Times
Nov 8, 2025
Considering she had discovered her “lifelong associate”, a single mom offered her flat and transferred the earnings collectively with her life financial savings value over $120,000 right into a scammer’s cryptocurrency pockets.
Though that they had never met or had any video calls collectively, she nonetheless packed up her belongings, withdrew her two kids from college and was about to start a new life abroad with her “lover”.
A day earlier than her flight, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Lee Hua Sheng from the Anti-Rip-off Command’s (ASC) Crypto Tracing Staff (CTT), requested her to come down to the ASC workplace, as he suspected she was a rip-off sufferer.
Her financial institution had alerted the ASC in regards to the suspicious transactions, which prompted ASP Lee to contact the lady. She advised him that her “lover” had been ignoring her messages.
The CTT is barely eight months outdated, having been operationalised in March to handle the risk of rip-off proceeds dissipating by digital property like cryptocurrency.
Nearly 1 / 4 of the (*2*) concerned cryptocurrency, with one sufferer shedding $125 million in cryptocurrency funds in a malware-enabled rip-off.
Offering assist to rip-off victims is one half of ASP Lee’s job as a senior investigation officer there. He described his position as a “human firewall”, to detect scams and defend victims.
ASP Desmond Chia, who’s the Officer-in-Cost of the CTT, stated the crew was fashioned as a result of of a rise in cryptocurrency adoption.
Stated ASP Chia: “Globally, persons are extra attuned to cryptocurrency, and it is a pattern which scammers have additionally observed.”
He added that cryptocurrency is an environment friendly manner for scammers to launder funds with out having to undergo banks.
Each officers had been talking to reporters on the Police Cantonment Advanced on Nov 6.
Within the first half of 2025, over $81.6 million in cryptocurrency was lost to scams.
Tether, Bitcoin, and Ethereum had been the highest cryptocurrencies rip-off victims reported to have misplaced.
Actuality strikes
Recounting the incident with the lady, ASP Lee stated she had met her ‘lover’ on-line, and so they had been speaking over WhatsApp messages and voice requires a yr.
However she had never seen his face.
ASP Lee stated: “I carried out a blockchain evaluation and traced the funds. We noticed the funds transfer out of her pockets, and laundered by a number of scam-linked addresses.”
A blockchain is a system used to hold document of transactions, particularly these involving cryptocurrency.
ASP Lee added: “Presenting the findings to her was one of the toughest issues I’ve ever carried out. The second the cruel fact hit her, the scammer’s silence and avoidance all of the sudden made sense (to her) and she burst into tears.”
ASP Lee spent about three hours speaking to the lady, who didn’t realise then that she had prevented a worse destiny.
Stated ASP Lee: “If she had gone forward and flown to a international nation, she would have been stranded with her two younger kids with no cash.”
ASP Lee later contacted the lady’s household and suggested them on how to assist her.
He stated: “She’s in a greater state now, attempting to get well from this episode and transfer on with her life.”
Exploiting victims’ ignorance
ASP Lee stated fraudsters can exploit victims’ lack of information about cryptocurrency.
As an illustration, scammers can generally pose as lecturers or mentors providing to assist victims spend money on cryptocurrency, however as a substitute guiding them to put their funds in fake platforms.
Officers within the CTT are educated to concentrate on real-time operations to cease scams in progress.
Their each day work consists of conducting reside blockchain evaluation to hint pockets actions, coordinating fund freezing and restoration, and interesting rip-off victims to stop them from transferring their funds to fraudsters.
In deciding on officers to be part of the CTT, ASP Chia stated candidates have to be fascinated with cryptocurrency, due to the technicalities concerned in crypto-tracing.
One of the first variations between tracing cryptocurrency and tracing bodily funds is how clear cryptocurrency transactions are. These transactions are recorded in a blockchain, which is extra simply accessible in contrast to financial institution transactions, the place data has to be obtained from the financial institution.
ASP Chia stated: “If we now have a fund switch from DBS to UOB after which to OCBC, we now have to go to all three banks to get details about the motion of funds.
“As soon as cryptocurrency is transferred into the blockchain, we will hint its motion from one pockets to one other, so long as it stays inside the blockchain.”
Nevertheless, it’s troublesome to discover the house owners of the crypto wallets, as these wallets could be created by anybody.
Blockchain transactions are additionally irreversible, which places stress on CTT officers to get to the funds earlier than the transactions are finalised.
Within the first half of 2025, the ASC recovered greater than $56.7 million of rip-off losses, which included $39.7 million in non-cryptocurrency and $17 million in cryptocurrency.
ASP Chia stated the CTT is engaged on growing protocols with their companions and worldwide legislation enforcement companies to pace up the cross-border restoration of funds.
They’re additionally wanting into automation to streamline their work processes, and making use of enhanced analytics for faster pockets identification.
With cryptocurrency utilization increasing, ASP Lee urged members of the general public to know what they’re investing in.
He stated: “Do not make investments blindly, and solely make investments what you may afford to lose. So many instances we have seen victims pour their life financial savings (into investments), and that is very harmful.”
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