SINGAPORE – Pondering she had discovered her “lifelong associate”, a single mom offered her flat and transferred the earnings along with her life savings value over $120,000 into a scammer’s cryptocurrency pockets.
Despite the fact that they had by no means met and had not had any video calls collectively, she nonetheless packed up her belongings, withdrew her two youngsters from faculty and was about to start a new life overseas 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 Workforce (CTT) requested her to go to the ASC workplace, as he suspected she was a rip-off sufferer.
Her financial institution had alerted ASC concerning the suspicious transactions, which prompted ASP Lee to contact the girl. She told him that her “lover” had been ignoring her messages.
The CTT is barely eight months outdated, having been operationalised in March to deal with the risk of rip-off proceeds dissipating by digital belongings like cryptocurrency.
$1.1 billion lost to scams in 2024
concerned cryptocurrency, with one sufferer shedding $125 million in cryptocurrency funds in a malware-enabled rip-off.
Offering help to rip-off victims is one half of ASP Lee’s job as a senior investigation officer on the CTT. He described his position as that of a “human firewall”, to detect scams and shield victims.
ASP Desmond Chia, who’s the officer-in-charge of the CTT, mentioned the staff was fashioned as a result of of a rise in cryptocurrency adoption.
Mentioned ASP Chia: “Globally, individuals are extra attuned to cryptocurrency, and it’s a development which scammers have additionally seen.”
He added that cryptocurrency is an environment friendly method for scammers to launder funds with out having to undergo banks.
Each officers had been talking to reporters on the Police Cantonment Complicated on Nov 6.
Within the first half of 2025,
more than
$81.6 million in cryptocurrency was lost to scams
.
Tether, Bitcoin and Ethereum had been the highest cryptocurrencies during which rip-off victims reported to have misplaced sums.
Recounting the incident with the girl, ASP Lee mentioned she had met her “lover” on-line, and so they had been speaking by WhatsApp messages and voice requires a 12 months.
However she had by no means seen his face.
ASP Lee mentioned: “I performed 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 maintain data of transactions, particularly these involving cryptocurrency.
ASP Lee added: “Presenting the findings to her was one of the toughest issues I’ve ever achieved. The second the tough reality hit her, the scammer’s silence and avoidance out of the blue made sense (to her) and she burst into tears.”
ASP Lee spent about three hours speaking to the girl, who didn’t realise then that she had prevented a worse destiny.
Mentioned ASP Lee: “If she had gone forward and flown to a international nation, she would have been stranded with her two younger youngsters, with no cash.”
ASP Lee later contacted the girl’s household and suggested them on help her.
He mentioned: “She’s in a higher state now, attempting to recuperate from this episode and transfer on with her life.”
ASP Lee mentioned fraudsters can exploit victims’ lack of information about cryptocurrency.
As an illustration, scammers can typically pose as academics or mentors providing to assist victims spend money on cryptocurrency, however as an alternative
guide them to put their funds in fake platforms
.
Officers within the CTT are educated to deal with real-time operations to cease scams in progress.
Their every 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.
On choosing officers to hitch the CTT, ASP Chia mentioned candidates should be eager about cryptocurrency, owing 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 than financial institution transactions, the place info needs to be obtained from the financial institution.
ASP Chia mentioned: “If now we have a fund switch from DBS to UOB after which to OCBC, now we 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 a different, so long as it stays inside the blockchain.”
Nevertheless, it’s troublesome to seek out the house owners of the crypto wallets, as these wallets might 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 mentioned the CTT is engaged on creating protocols with its companions and worldwide legislation enforcement businesses to hurry up the cross-border restoration of funds.
It’s also trying into automation to streamline its 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 mentioned: “Don’t make investments blindly, and make investments solely what you’ll be able to afford to lose. So many occasions we’ve seen victims pour their life savings (into investments), and that’s very harmful.”
