Reported by Mothership, a digital media company that operates in Singapore, a 19-year-old Singaporean man, identified only as ZX, had arranged to purchase cryptocurrency in person on the evening of 29 August.
While waiting for the seller to finish a cigarette at Block 567A Hougang Street 51, ZX was suddenly allegedly attacked by one of two men who approached him, striking him on the left cheek.
Fearing the attackers were after the S$32,000 in cash he had brought for the transaction, ZX immediately fled toward Hougang Green Shopping Mall.
He managed to evade the pursuers by crossing the road and eventually returned home safely.
ZX recounted that he first connected with the seller, a man, via Telegram on 28 August in response to ZX's inquiry about purchasing Tether (USDT), a popular cryptocurrency stablecoin.
Although he had never dealt with the seller before, ZX decided to proceed with the transaction due to his urgent need for Tether and the fact that this was the only seller who responded.
He opted for an offline transaction to save on fees, stating:
"It's not reasonable to lose out on the fees and everything with my trading frequency."
He explained that typical fees for buying or selling crypto range from 1% to 2% of the total transaction value.
The arrangement was for the seller to transfer USDT to ZX's crypto wallet once ZX handed over the cash in person.
The crypto buyer, ZX, recounted his story with screenshoots of the Telegram chat as well as the route he took.
After agreeing to exchange Tether for S$32,000 in cash, ZX and the seller arranged to meet at Hougang Green Shopping Mall at 5 pm the next day.
However, upon ZX’s arrival on 29 August, the seller unexpectedly informed him that he was waiting at a nearby car park instead.
ZX elaborated:
"I told him I preferred to meet him in the mall, but he insisted that I bring him in. As such, I went to withdraw some money before meeting him at the car park."
When ZX arrived at the car park, the seller suggested conducting the trade there, citing the presence of police outside.
ZX, still preferring the mall, was asked to wait while the seller finished his cigarette.
As ZX waited, two men approached him, appearing as ordinary pedestrians.
Sensing something was off, ZX became cautious, but one of the men managed to catch him off guard, delivering a punch and grabbing for his clutch, which held the $32,000 cash.
In an attempt to escape, ZX ran towards the mall, thinking the men would not follow.
To his chagrin, they continued to pursue him.
As ZX fled for safety, he shouted, "Robbery!" hoping to attract help, but his calls went unanswered.
When the two men attempted to corner him, ZX managed to escape by crossing the road and heading towards his home.
After securing his S$32,000 cash, he immediately reported the incident at a nearby police station.
ZX later revealed that the punch had left his left cheek swollen and bruised.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a report was filed, and two men, aged 20 and 21, have been arrested for attempted robbery.
Investigations are ongoing.
Telegram has revised its FAQ page, removing the statement that private chats were immune to moderation following CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest. Previously, the FAQ suggested private chats were secure from moderation.
KikyoThe future of cryptocurrency lies in integrated applications, and Telegram is a pioneer.
JinseFinanceThe release of AO marks the transformation of the Arweave ecosystem from decentralized storage to a full-stack application ecosystem that supports decentralized computing.
JinseFinanceMicrosoft has unveiled plans to transition from Bing Chat to Microsoft Copilot, signalling a strategic move aimed at entering the competitive arena with ChatGPT.
CatherineWeeks after Microsoft announced a new AI-powered version of its search engine Bing, scammers have been flooding the market with tokens trying to cash in on hype.
decryptThe messaging app is pushing ahead with its buildout of crypto infrastructure.
OthersTelegram announced that the anonymous account's claims are “baseless” and are made to "get users to download malware."
CointelegraphOn June 7, Forbes announced the list of the top 50 most innovative financial technology companies in 2022, including 9 encryption companies.
链向资讯The Blockscan Chat service enables users to message each other via their Ethereum wallet addresses.
CointelegraphAfter a TON ecosystem fund raised $250 million from a host of mainstream entities such as Huobi, Kucoin and MEXC, TON’s global adoption seems to be rapidly increasing.
Cointelegraph