# Singapore police identify over 383 victims of crypto scams Author: Abdullah Özkurt Language: English Published: 2026-11-06T15:30:51+03:00 Updated: 2026-11-06T15:30:51+03:00 ![A green telephone handset above branching copper paths on a glass map of Singapore.](https://kriptometa.com/uploads/singapur-polisi-ten-fazla-kripto-dolandiriciligi-magduru-belirledi-bb6a2172df3f_article.webp) ## Key takeaways - The fifth joint operation ran from September 1 through October 31. - Investigators traced crypto transfers and used customer information from payment providers to reach victims. - Sharing leads with US, Australian and Canadian agencies helped identify 32 victims abroad. Singapore police worked with crypto platforms and overseas investigators to reach scam victims before they sent more money. Cyber Command says its officers and partners helped avert over S$17.4 million in potential losses during the two-month operation. Singapore police identified more than 383 victims of cryptocurrency scams, according to the force’s [November 5 statement](https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/11/20261105_fifth_joint_operation_by_police_and_digital_payment_token_service_providers). Fraudsters posed as government officials or offered victims jobs and investments. Police gave no breakdown by type of scam. Police estimate victims would have sent scammers more than S$17.4 million had officers not intervened. They did not say how much the scammers had already taken or how much victims had got back. ## How investigators reached victims [Crypto exchanges](https://kriptometa.com/en/best-crypto-exchanges) and other digital payment token service providers took part. Partners named by police included Coinbase, Coinhako, DTCPay, Gemini, Independent Reserve, OKX, StraitsX and Upbit. Investigators followed transfers using tools from Chainalysis and TRM Labs. The platforms shared customer information so officers could reach victims by phone or warn them in person. Mohamed Shariff Ahmed Munshi, who traces cryptocurrency for Cyber Command, told the force’s [Police Life magazine on October 13](https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/Police-Life/2026/10/Beyond-the-Blockchain-Two-Officers-Tracing-Cryptocurrency-Crime) that an investigation can start with a single [wallet address](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/wallet-address) or a transaction record supplied by a victim. Investigators can follow payments on publicly accessible blockchains. Splitting a payment into smaller sums or moving it through several wallets can make the trail harder to follow. Some victims still believe they are investing or helping someone they trust when officers call, Shariff said. His team walks them through the transfers, showing how their money went from one wallet to the next. Muhammad Syazwan Bin Suhaimi, a cyber specialist in the command, combines open-source leads with evidence from devices and systems and builds tools for cases that commercial software cannot handle. ## Cross-border leads identified 32 victims abroad Cyber Command shared leads from the blockchain with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Australia’s New South Wales Police Force and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The agencies used that information to identify 32 people abroad and reach them before they lost more money. Police did not say where those victims lived or whether they counted them among the more than 383. Singapore’s two most recent joint crypto scam operations | Operation | Victims identified | Potential losses averted | |---|---|---| | Fourth, July 1–August 31 | More than 355 | Over S$8.94 million | | Fifth, September 1–October 31 | More than 383 | Over S$17.4 million | [The Straits Times reported on September 3](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/almost-9-million-in-scam-losses-foiled-by-police-and-crypto-exchanges?ref=more-on-this-topic) that the earlier operation also uncovered government impersonation, job and investment scams. Police previously put the total for the first four operations, from March through August, at more than 720 potential victims identified and over S$18.9 million in losses averted. That total includes the July–August operation. In its [November 6 coverage](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/fifth-joint-operation-by-police-crypto-exchanges-stops-scam-victims-from-losing-over-17-4-million), the newspaper said police intend to share leads with agencies in more jurisdictions. ## How to check a call from Singapore police Under the [system introduced on November 2](https://www.scamshield.gov.sg/scid/), all outgoing police calls come from **6000 0999**, followed by a text from the gov.sg sender ID explaining how to contact the force for help. The number cannot take incoming calls. Officers do not use it to call through WhatsApp or Telegram. At nine seconds into its [November 1 public information video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ3u-_BWAIA&t=9s), the force tells viewers to stop and check the number when someone calls claiming to be an officer. Someone who knows your name or identity number can still be impersonating an official. Singapore’s [ScamShield service](https://www.scamshield.gov.sg/i-want-protection-from-scams/learn-to-recognise-scams/government-officials-impersonation-scams/) advises contacting the agency directly through an official channel to verify the call. Government officials in Singapore will never call to ask you to transfer money or crypto, disclose bank login details or install apps from unofficial stores. ScamShield also warns against opening links to banking sites in messages purporting to come from police. One way to [check for a phishing link](https://kriptometa.com/en/crypto-phishing-fake-token-checks) is to go directly to the bank’s website. In Singapore, the 24-hour ScamShield helpline at 1799 can help check a suspicious call. Anyone who has sent money should call their bank immediately and file a police report, the service says. People with information about a scam can reach Singapore police on 1800-255-0000 or use its [i-Witness tip service](https://www.police.gov.sg/i-witness). Tips can be anonymous. To file a formal police report, use the separate reporting service.