Singapore Police Say Tampered Ledger Wallets Were Reported a Month Before the Scandal Broke

Singapore police say the first complaint about a tampered Ledger hardware wallet reached them on Sept. 10, almost four weeks before the wider scandal became public. Two cases so far add up to about 3.5 million Singapore dollars in losses, or $2.7 million. The Oct. 28 consumer alert does not say whether that first case was reported to police at the time or filed later. If it was filed promptly, that raises the question of whether Ledger was told and whether police could have warned the public sooner. The advisory describes the investigation as still at an early stage.

How the Ledger Supply Chain Problem Unfolded

Ledger published its own warning on Oct. 9, saying tampered devices had turned up in the supply chain of reseller CryptoBilis. Wallets carrying spyware components led to almost $100 million in drained funds. On Oct. 13, Ledger asked retailers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong to stop selling its devices while checks continue. The police warning itself came about three weeks after the story broke.