The Singapore Police Force confirmed that the affected devices were sold through local retail outlets, including locations at Changi Airport and VivoCity. Preliminary findings indicate these wallets contained unauthorized hardware components capable of transmitting sensitive keys via LTE connections, effectively bypassing standard security measures. Because the malicious implants operated independently of the device's Secure Element, the standard operating system remained unaware of the breach.
In section Cryptocurrency
Singapore Crypto Users Lose S$3.5M to Tampered Ledger Wallets
Two cases of compromised Ledger hardware wallets in Singapore have resulted in S$3.5 million in cryptocurrency losses since September 10. Investigators discovered that attackers physically modified the devices with malicious hardware designed to intercept recovery phrases, allowing unauthorized access to digital assets once the wallets were initialized by unsuspecting buyers.
Ledger responded to the discovery by suspending sales across Southeast Asia, including markets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. The manufacturer has distanced itself from the tampering, stating that its own distribution channels remain secure and that the compromised units entered the market through third-party resellers like CryptoBilis. Customers who purchased Ledger devices in the region within the last 90 days are being urged to avoid initializing them and to migrate assets to new hardware with freshly generated recovery phrases. While global estimates of losses linked to these tampered devices have reached US$86 million, Ledger maintains it cannot verify the total impact due to the decentralized nature of the thefts.
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