The danger of romance scams seen from the case of a Singaporean woman losing $120,000 in cryptocurrency

As scam damages within Singapore become more severe, romance scams exploiting cryptocurrencies are attracting social attention. In 2024, the total amount lost by Singaporeans to scammers reached approximately $1.1 billion, with about a quarter of that passing through digital assets.

Woman Loses Lifetime Savings Without Verification

In the incident that has come to light, a single mother sent up to $120,000 to an overseas partner she believed to be a romantic interest. Despite only communicating via WhatsApp messages and voice calls for over a year, she never saw the face of the other party.

This woman fell for the scammer’s false promises, withdrew her two children from school, and even prepared to move abroad. Her packing was complete, and with the departure date just a day away, officers from the Singapore Scam Prevention Command (ASC) noticed irregularities. They received warnings from the bank about suspicious fund withdrawals.

Organized Money Laundering by Scammers

Following investigations by the Blockchain Analysis Team (CTT), it was confirmed that the funds sent by the woman were systematically laundered through multiple suspicious addresses. The anonymity of cryptocurrencies and the difficulty in tracing transactions have made it easier for scammers to hide their funds.

Statistics Show Growing Trend of Crypto Scams

According to Singapore authorities, scam damages through Bitcoin and Ethereum alone exceeded $81.6 million in the first half of 2025. Even more shocking, there have been reports of malware-based scams where victims lost over $125 million in digital assets.

In response, the Singapore Scam Prevention Command established a Cryptocurrency Tracking Team (CCT) in March of this year. This move is driven by the global expansion of cryptocurrency use and scammers beginning to exploit this trend.

Knowledge Gaps Targeted by Scammers

Currently, scammers are taking advantage of victims’ lack of knowledge about cryptocurrencies. They contact victims under the pretext of assisting with digital asset investments, gather the received funds, and then suddenly disappear.

Officials have stated that they are working to minimize damages by monitoring wallet activity in real-time and immediately freezing suspicious transactions. Going forward, raising awareness and improving crypto literacy among Singapore residents will be a key challenge in reducing scam damages.