Police warn of rise in unauthorised cryptocurrency account access through compromised emails

Several of the email accounts involved had previously appeared in data breaches on other platforms, the police said.

A man using a laptop. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

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SINGAPORE: The police have warned of a recent trend involving the unauthorised access of cryptocurrency accounts through compromised email accounts.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Saturday (Sep 12) that it has observed an increase in such cases since mid-August.

Investigations found that several of the affected email accounts previously appeared in data breaches on other platforms, suggesting that the victims' credentials may have been exposed.

“Perpetrators may have exploited this by using the compromised email credentials to access victims’ cryptocurrency accounts, taking advantage of victims who reused the same passwords across multiple online services,” SPF said in a news release.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less In such cases, scammers might have searched the victims' email accounts to identify the cryptocurrency platforms or exchanges they used. They may also create inbox rules to automatically archive, forward or delete emails from cryptocurrency exchanges to avoid detection. The scammers can then initiate password reset requests for the cryptocurrency accounts and intercept password reset links, one-time passwords or verification emails sent to the victims. Police also warned that credentials obtained through previous data breaches could be used to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts if victims had reused the same passwords across multiple online services.

In such cases, scammers might have searched the victims' email accounts to identify the cryptocurrency platforms or exchanges they used.

They may also create inbox rules to automatically archive, forward or delete emails from cryptocurrency exchanges to avoid detection.

The scammers can then initiate password reset requests for the cryptocurrency accounts and intercept password reset links, one-time passwords or verification emails sent to the victims.

Police also warned that credentials obtained through previous data breaches could be used to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts if victims had reused the same passwords across multiple online services.

SPF urged members of the public to use strong and unique passwords for each online account and enable multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication.

Where possible, users should use an authenticator application rather than SMS-based verification, which is more susceptible to interception, said the police.

Users should also regularly check their email security settings, looking out for unauthorised inbox rules, email forwarding settings and suspicious login activity.

They should pay attention to notifications from service providers about data breaches and change their passwords immediately if their credentials have been exposed, while ensuring that multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication is enabled.

Those with cryptocurrency accounts should regularly review their transaction history and enable account activity notifications where available.

Anyone who suspects that their email or cryptocurrency account has been compromised should contact their email service provider and cryptocurrency exchange immediately to secure or freeze the accounts, where possible.

They should also change the passwords for the affected emails, cryptocurrency accounts and any other online accounts where the same password was used.

Anyone with information relating to such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800 255 0000 or submit information online through the police's i-witness platform.

Those unsure if something is a scam can call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 or download the ScamShield app to check, detect and block scams.

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警方表示，涉事的几个电子邮件账户此前曾在其他平台的数据泄露事件中出现过。

一名男子正在使用笔记本电脑。（资料照片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：警方警告称，近期出现了一种趋势，即通过被盗用的电子邮件账户非法访问加密货币账户。

新加坡警察部队（SPF）周六（9月12日）表示，自8月中旬以来，此类案件有所增加。

调查发现，部分受影响的电子邮件帐户此前曾在其他平台的数据泄露事件中出现过，这表明受害者的凭证可能已被泄露。

SPF在一份新闻稿中表示：“犯罪分子可能利用被盗用的电子邮件凭证访问受害者的加密货币账户，利用受害者在多个在线服务中重复使用相同密码的漏洞。”

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 在这种情况下，诈骗者可能已经搜索了受害者的电子邮件帐户，以确定他们使用的加密货币平台或交易所。他们还可能创建收件箱规则，自动存档、转发或删除来自加密货币交易所的电子邮件，以避免被发现。然后，诈骗者可以发起加密货币帐户的密码重置请求，并拦截发送给受害者的密码重置链接、一次性密码或验证电子邮件。警方还警告说，如果受害者在多个在线服务中重复使用相同的密码，则通过先前数据泄露获得的凭据可能被用于访问加密货币帐户。

在这种情况下，诈骗者可能会搜索受害者的电子邮件帐户，以确定他们使用的加密货币平台或交易所。

他们还可能创建收件箱规则，自动归档、转发或删除来自加密货币交易所的电子邮件，以避免被发现。

诈骗者随后可以发起加密货币账户的密码重置请求，并拦截发送给受害者的密码重置链接、一次性密码或验证电子邮件。

警方还警告说，如果受害者在多个在线服务中重复使用相同的密码，那么通过先前数据泄露事件获得的凭证可能被用来访问加密货币账户。

新加坡警察部队敦促公众为每个在线账户使用强密码和唯一密码，并启用多因素身份验证或双因素身份验证。

警方表示，用户应尽可能使用身份验证应用程序，而不是更容易被拦截的短信验证。

用户还应定期检查电子邮件安全设置，注意未经授权的收件箱规则、电子邮件转发设置和可疑的登录活动。

用户应注意服务提供商发出的数据泄露通知，如果凭据泄露，应立即更改密码，同时确保启用多因素身份验证或双因素身份验证。

拥有加密货币账户的用户应定期查看交易记录，并启用账户活动通知功能（如有）。

任何怀疑自己的电子邮件或加密货币账户已被盗用的人都应立即联系其电子邮件服务提供商和加密货币交易所，尽可能保护或冻结账户。

他们还应该更改受影响的电子邮件、加密货币账户以及任何其他使用相同密码的在线账户的密码。

任何知悉此类犯罪信息的人都可以拨打警方热线 1800 255 0000 或通过警方的 i-witness 平台在线提交信息。

如果您不确定某件事是否是骗局，可以拨打 24/7 ScamShield 热线 1799 或下载 ScamShield 应用程序来检查、检测和阻止骗局。

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