Singapore Police: Users lost 2.7 million USD due to tampered Ledger wallet

The Singapore Police Force issued a warning on Wednesday, stating that since September 10, they have received at least two reports involving tampered Ledger hardware wallets, resulting in a total loss of approximately 3.5 million Singapore dollars, equivalent to about 2.7 million US dollars. Preliminary investigations found malicious hardware components in Ledger wallets purchased from certain retail stores in Singapore.

The incident only came to public attention on October 9, involving devices sold through authorized dealers CryptoBilis in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Subsequently, former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès stated that a Ledger Flex purchased at Singapore airport contained a spy implant. Another user reported acquiring a tampered device from local IT retailer Challenger, and later received a new device sent by Ledger.

On October 13, Ledger requested retailers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong to suspend sales of their devices pending the completion of the investigation. The Singapore police stated they are in contact with Ledger, which is reviewing the affected cases, and the police investigation is ongoing.