Police warn of fake website claiming to help FTX investors withdraw crypto funds
SINGAPORE: The police on Saturday (Nov 19) warned against false online information on cryptocurrency, including a fake website targeting investors of the now-bankrupt FTX.The fake website purportedly helps FTX's customers recover their investment losses, which comes after the collapse of one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.The company filed for bankruptcy on Nov 11 and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive.This left an estimated 1 million customers and other investors facing billions of dollars in losses.
Among FTX's major backers were Singapore state investment firm Temasek, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and venture capital firm Sequoia, all of whom have written down hundreds of millions of dollars in investments.According to the police, the fake website is supposedly hosted by the US Department of Justice and prompts FTX customers to log in to the website with their account details.It would then claim that customers "would be able to withdraw their funds after paying legal fees"."The site is likely a phishing website for collecting login credentials," said the police.The police also warned against fake online articles that promote cryptocurrency auto-trading programs.Such articles tend to feature Singapore politicians such as Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-jin, the police said.In these articles, claims would be made that both politicians "endorse algorithmic cryptocurrency auto-trading programs, such as Immediate Edge, claiming that such programs generate massive profits".These endorsements are untrue, the police added."The online articles portrayed the investments as highly lucrative and almost risk-free," said the police, adding that the
