Email Compromises Put Singaporeans at Risk of Cryptocurrency Hacks

Members of the public who have cryptocurrency accounts are being warned to take necessary steps to safeguard their linked email accounts, as police in Singapore report an increase in cases involving unauthorized access to these accounts.

The authorities have noticed a rise in such incidents since mid-August, with investigations revealing that several compromised email accounts had previously appeared in data breaches on other platforms.

Perpetrators may exploit this by searching the victim's email account for cryptocurrency platforms or exchanges used by the victim and then initiating password reset requests to intercept verification emails sent to the compromised account.

The police advise taking steps such as using strong, unique passwords for each online account, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) or two-factor authentication (2FA), regularly reviewing email account security settings, and reporting any suspected breaches to the authorities.