Singapore detects 631 crypto-currency scams per year

The Singapore government has urged citizens of the country to exercise caution when investing in crypto assets.

Interior Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam said that over the past three years, the number of complaints about crypto scammers has increased significantly. In 2019, the police received 125 applications from citizens who lost their money due to investments in dubious cryptocurrency projects. In 2020, this number increased to 397, and in 2021 it exceeded 630.

The vast majority of crypto-related crimes are committed by people outside the country, so the ability of law enforcement agencies in Singapore to protect local citizens is limited, the minister is concerned. He assured that the local prosecutor's office stepped up measures to identify such schemes. However, the effectiveness of tracking down the organizers of cryptocurrency pyramids largely depends on cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies.

The Minister noted that back in 2018, the Singapore Police established a special working group to monitor the crypto space, improve procedures for investigating crimes with cryptocurrencies and confiscate digital assets. In addition to law enforcement, the group included industry and academic experts. Shanmugam added that the best protection against cryptocurrency fraud is criticality, the ability to analyze information and the ability to distinguish a good project from a cryptocurrency pyramid. Therefore, the Singapore authorities have increasingly begun to turn to the public, warning people about the risks of investing in crypto assets.

Recently, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) proposed tightening regulation of stablecoin issuers to reduce the financial risks of retail investors.