Singapore loses $11.8M to fake recruiting scams targeting crypto firms

Singapore suffered $11.8 million in losses from a scam in which criminals posed as recruiters at cryptocurrency-related companies, infiltrated corporate systems and stole crypto, CNA reported. In one case, a victim who received a fake job offer through LinkedIn downloaded malware while taking a coding test on a company-issued device. The scammers then stole the victim’s login session data, bypassed multi-factor authentication, and accessed the company’s code repository and internal servers. They later obtained credentials that allowed them to bypass transfer limits and approval procedures, enabling the theft of cryptocurrency. Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) urged the tech and crypto industries to verify recruiters’ identities, protect internal credentials, and strengthen multi-factor authentication.