Cryptocurrencies, tokens, NFTs, virtual "assets" frauds

Quarter of $1.1b scam losses in 2024 involved cryptocurrency; 1 victim lost $125m in fake interview​


Police said cryptocurrency losses accounted for about 24.3 per cent of total scam losses, a surge from the 6.8 per cent recorded the previous year.

Police said cryptocurrency losses accounted for around 25 per cent of total scam losses, a surge from the 6.8 per cent the previous year.

Feb 25, 2025, 03:00 PM

SINGAPORE – Almost a quarter of the $1.1 billion lost to scams in 2024 involved cryptocurrency, with one victim losing $125 million in cryptocurrency funds in a malware-enabled scam.

Police said the 36-year-old man clicked on a fake interview meeting link and was asked by scammers to run a script on his laptop, which turned out to be a malicious code that targeted his cryptocurrency wallet.

He realised he was scammed only after discovering cryptocurrency transactions that he had not authorised.

Police said cryptocurrency losses accounted for 24.3 per cent of total scam losses in 2024, a surge from the 6.8 per cent recorded the previous year.

In releasing the annual scam statistics on Feb 25, police said victims in four cases lost a total of $237.9 million in 2024.

Three of the cases involved cryptocurrency losses.

One of the victims lost $33.8 million after falling for a phishing scam. The loss accounted for more than half of the $59.4 million scammers stole in 8,552 phishing scam cases in 2024.

Police said the victim had chanced upon an advertisement offering lucrative rewards while browsing on a legitimate cryptocurrency wallet application.

The ad turned out to be a phishing scam, which redirected users to a third-party site resembling a legitimate company.


Police said the victim scanned a QR code on the site and keyed in cryptocurrency wallet login credentials.

Another victim who suffered cryptocurrency losses fell for a social media impersonation ruse.

The victim made cryptocurrency transfers while under the impression that he was communicating with a company director he thought he knew on Telegram. He lost more than $21 million.

His loss accounted for the bulk of the $26.4 million scammers took in 2024 through various social media impersonation ruses across 728 cases.

Police said the most common scam types for losses involving cryptocurrency were investment, job and phishing scams.

Victims aged 30 to 49 suffered the most losses in cryptocurrency.


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Commercial Affairs Department director David Chew said three groups of people may be targeted by scammers for cryptocurrency cases.

“First of them being digital natives who are supposed to know what to do but still fall prey to scams. Cryptocurrency is not very easily understood, even by the experts,” said Mr Chew.

The second group comprises individuals who fall prey to investment fraud after opening accounts with a cryptocurrency exchange.

“Once a victim opens an account and invests with their money, it disappears,” he said.

Cryptocurrency mules are the third group.

“We are seeing money move from bank accounts into cryptocurrency mule accounts and out.

“These are the people who are also caught under the new Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act amendments, who use their cryptocurrency accounts to buy fiat currency from unknown persons and transfer it to unknown wallets,” said Mr Chew.

The Act was amended in 2023 with new offences introduced to curb the facilitation of scams and the movement of criminal proceeds.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Feb 25 that it has restricted marketing and advertising of cryptocurrency services in public areas and introduced consumer protection safeguards.

“MAS has been strongly cautioning against trading and investments in cryptocurrencies by the retail public, given their lack of intrinsic value, volatile prices and highly speculative nature, and has been conducting regular public education on this,” added its spokesman.

“The risks are even higher if members of the public are dealing with unregulated entities. They could well be fraudulent. Members of the public should always check whether entities they want to deal with are licensed by MAS.”
 

In 7 years, student from Choa Chu Kang went from gamer to alleged role in $320m crypto heist​

The US authorities say 22 of Lam's vehicles have yet to be located by law enforcement, including a white Lamborghini he had adorned with his name.

The US authorities say 22 of Lam's vehicles have yet to be located by law enforcement, including a white Lamborghini he had adorned with his name.

Mar 16, 2025

SINGAPORE – In just seven short years, Malone Lam Yu Xuan went from being a student in a secondary school in Choa Chu Kang to being dubbed crypto whizz-kid by some in the US in 2023.

Many who saw his spending spree were amazed a 19-year-old could afford large mansions, a fleet of expensive cars and luxury clothes.

In truth, Lam was living off the millions in crypto he stole from various investors, he later told investigators in the US.

This was before August 2024, when he allegedly got involved in the theft of Bitcoin valued at more than US$240 million (S$320 million), one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history.

Legal documents obtained by The Straits Times showed that Lam, who turned 20 in 2024, had been living in the US on an expired tourist visa.

Documents filed in a US court showed the then teenager pocketed millions and spent some of the money on himself and his friends.

Among other things, he purchased and gifted a 2024 Mercedes SL and a 2023 Ferrari FS to Jeandiel Serrano.

A year later, Lam and Serrano ended up as co-accused in the Bitcoin theft, where they allegedly stole more than 4,100 bitcoins from a single victim between Aug 18 and 19, 2024.

Lam faces two indictments in the District of Columbia for conspiring to commit wire fraud, and for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

Each of the charges carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

Singapore student​

Checks by ST showed Lam had enrolled in Unity Secondary School in Choa Chu Kang in 2017.

But he left soon after, later telling investigators in the US that he had dropped out of school when he was between 13 and 14 years old.

Lam was active online, especially in the gaming community.

He went by the moniker “Greavys” in Minecraft and also used “Anne Hathaway” and “Malone” on various gaming platforms including Discord.

Lam moved to the US in October 2023. He already knew Serrano, an American, by then.


They met online while playing Minecraft and gained notoriety within the community for allegedly looting or stealing other players’ accounts to sell for money.

The authorities there said Lam had travelled on a visa waiver programme, which allows residents of 42 countries, including Singapore, to enter the US for 90 days for business or leisure purposes.

His visa expired in January 2024, but he stayed on illegally. He spent time in Texas and Los Angeles and also travelled to Canada.

While in the US, the gamer from Singapore developed a taste for the “post and boast” lifestyle, a term describing young people who flaunt on social media their expensive cars and clothes, big parties and even larger mansions.

He claimed he was a crypto investor, court documents showed. But in reality, he got rich by hacking and stealing cryptocurrency.

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A screenshot of an Instagram reel showing Malone Lam purportedly having an extravagant party at a nightclub.

PHOTO: IAINTEVENTRIPPIN_/INSTAGRAM

US prosecutor Jonathan Stratton described Lam as a “sophisticated crypto fraudster” when the Singaporean was first produced in a district court in South Florida in September 2024.

In arguing against granting him bail, Mr Stratton said Lam presents two dangers.

“One is, he is obviously a sophisticated cryptocurrency fraudster. He executed one of the most significant cryptocurrency hacks in the country.

“He can do those kinds of hacking from anywhere, and there is no reasonable combination of conditions that pre-trial services can implement that will prevent his ability to further exploit crypto investors throughout the country,” he said.

The prosecutor added that Lam has an inclination to obstruct justice.

“The defendant was tipped off by his co-defendant’s girlfriend and immediately engaged in further criminal activity by deleting his Telegram account and obstructing justice in this investigation,” he said, adding that Lam’s ability to hide electronic evidence is significant.

After his arrest, Lam told investigators in the US that before the heist, he had made millions by engaging in various crypto scams. He said he used the stolen money to support his lifestyle.

Lam, Serrano and their accomplices allegedly hit the jackpot in August 2024, and later divided the stolen funds among themselves.

Lam amassed a fleet of 31 luxury vehicles – including a US$3.8 million Pagani Huayra, a US$1 million Lamborghini Revuelto, and custom Ferraris and Porsches.

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A photo from social media showing Malone Lam Yu Xuan and one of his luxury vehicles.

The US authorities say 22 of Lam’s vehicles have yet to be located by law enforcement, including a white Lamborghini he had adorned with his name.

He also rented multiple mansions in Miami, paying US$68,000 in monthly rent on one residence alone, and also acquired multiple luxury watches – one of which was purchased for US$1.8 million.

Prosecutors said that during this period, he became known in the Los Angeles nightclub scene because of the lavish bottle services he demanded.

He even gave handbags valued at tens of thousands of dollars to people he barely knew. Social media influencers created videos detailing how Lam had given them handbags from French fashion house Hermes.

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Some influencers have taken to social media to show the free Hermes bags they received from Malone Lam.

On Sept 11, 2024, influencer Skylar Harrison posted a video on TikTok detailing how she ran into Lam at a nightclub called Keys.

While in the club, someone from Lam’s entourage invited her to the section he was in, with the offer of a Hermes handbag.

She added that she witnessed Lam purchasing around US$100,000 worth of alcohol within 10 minutes of meeting her. She said Lam claimed to be the son of a Chinese billionaire.

Investigations revealed that he spent up to US$500,000 per night at nightclubs over the course of a few weeks and, on some occasions, tried to pay in cryptocurrency.

That flashy lifestyle and his vanity contributed to his downfall. Investigators were looking for Lam and they found his name on a banner in a club where he spent hundreds of thousands.

Court documents showed the authorities were watching him.

A prosecutor said government surveillance caught Lam spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in a night.

Lam’s spending spree was also rife on social media platforms, with multiple videos showing him – decked out in designer clothes and jewellery – partying.

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A receipt on social media from one of Malone Lam’s spending sprees.

No ties​

The game was up after investigators identified Serrano. He was arrested on Sept 18, 2024, at the Los Angeles International Airport, after he returned from a holiday in the Maldives with his girlfriend.

After she was interviewed, Serrano’s girlfriend tipped off Lam – who was already in Miami after travelling from Los Angeles on a private jet.

Investigators said the Singaporean was arrested as he tried to flee. He has been held in detention since his arrest.

Prosecutors said Lam is a flight risk.

He has substantial assets that have yet to be located, which they said provide him with the financial means to flee the jurisdiction.

In September 2024, a Florida judge said Lam seemed to have very little ties to anywhere except Singapore.

“He has lived in Texas, LA, Canada. Just a bit of a rolling stone. No ties to South Florida.

“No other job except his self-admitted job as a crypto investor for the last eight months – and we know what he was doing investing other people’s money, according to the indictment,” the judge said.

On March 7, Lam’s lawyer, Mr Scott Armstrong, filed a notice indicating the Singaporean’s intention to proceed to trial by jury.

In response to queries from ST, Mr Armstrong said: “Mr Lam is currently being held in Virginia pending his trial, which was set for October 2025.”

Lam is also intending to file other “legal attacks”, according to Mr Armstrong’s application.

This will include suppression motions that require the US government to produce meaningful discovery in the case against him.

The lawyer said Lam is also calling for the immediate production of search warrant affidavits and reports relevant to the searches executed in his case in order to prepare his defence.

In an earlier hearing, state prosecutors said that based on the amounts involved in the heist, Lam will likely face between 168 and 210 months’ jail.

At least US$100 million of the stolen Bitcoin remains unaccounted for.
 

CAD probing Tokenize Xchange operator; firm’s director charged with fraudulent trading​

The authorities also said that Tokenize Xchange CEO Hong Qi Yu was charged in court on July 31 with fraudulent trading under the same Act.

Tokenize Xchange CEO Hong Qi Yu was charged in court on July 31 with fraudulent trading.

Aug 01, 2025

SINGAPORE - The Singapore police are investigating the company operating cryptocurrency trading platform Tokenize Xchange, and the firm’s director has been charged in court with fraudulent trading.

In a joint statement on Aug 1, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) said Amazing Tech – the operator of cryptocurrency platform Tokenize Xchange – along with its related entities, is under investigation for potential offences, including fraudulent trading under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

The authorities also said that Hong Qi Yu, a director of Amazing Tech and the founder and chief executive of Tokenize Xchange, was charged in court on July 31 with fraudulent trading under the same Act.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Tokenize Xchange said on July 20 that it will shut down the business following an MAS decision not to grant it a licence to offer digital payment token services here. It was previously operating under an exemption.

The firm told The Straits Times then that its customers in Singapore can no longer buy or sell cryptocurrencies on its platform and may only transfer their cryptocurrency holdings to other exchanges, where they can convert them to cash and make withdrawals.

It said that users can continue to withdraw cash directly from the exchange based on the Singapore dollar value of each user’s portfolio, which includes both fiat and cryptocurrency holdings.

MAS said it received several customer complaints in mid-July about Amazing Tech over delays in processing withdrawals of monies and digital payment tokens.

The central bank said it asked the company to address these concerns and to return customers’ monies and tokens in an “orderly manner”, including by topping up any shortfalls in customer accounts.

Through its subsequent engagements with the firm, MAS said it found indications that Amazing Tech did not have sufficient assets to meet customer claims, and may not have segregated customer assets from its own.

It also found signs that the company may have made false representations to MAS about the segregation of customer assets when applying for a Major Payment Institution Licence. MAS then referred the matter to the CAD for investigation.

MAS added that Amazing Tech and its activities are not supervised or regulated by the authority.

Police said investigations are ongoing. ST has contacted Amazing Tech for comments.
 
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