FTX has an estimated $8 billion hole in its balance sheet. Investors desperate to get their money back are being targeted by phishing scams.
Investors have been cautioned by the Singapore Police Force to be wary of phony websites that promise to assist them recover money from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
According to local news outlet Channel News Asia, the police warned the public on November 19 about a website that requests FTX users’ login information and purports to be housed by the U.S Department of Justice. Targeting local investors concerned by the FTX collapse, the unnamed website asserts that clients “would be able to withdraw their assets after paying legal fees.”
The website, according to the authorities, was a phishing scheme created to trick unwary users into disclosing their private information. Authorities in the area have also issued warnings about false web articles that appear to be spreading recently and advertise cryptocurrency auto trading systems in the nation. Popular Singaporean politicians, such parliament speaker Tan Chuan-jin, are frequently discussed in these articles.
Although Singapore’s police have previously warned the public about cryptocurrency frauds, new changes in the sector have made investors more susceptible to attacks. A million investors and creditors are thought to have been impacted by FTX’s bankruptcy. They stand to lose billions as a group.
Singapore has pushed tougher laws for retail trade and self-hosted wallets despite marketing itself as a center for cryptocurrency and Web3 innovation. The city-state has often cautioned investors that digital assets are extremely speculative and has even outlawed cryptocurrency advertising on social media.
But a number of cryptocurrency businesses have asked for licenses in the city-state, and stablecoin issuers Circle Internet Financial and Paxos have received nods from the Singaporean government’s monetary authority.
