Singapore Entrepreneur Loses Six Figures in Crypto to Game-Testing Scam

A Singapore entrepreneur has fallen victim to a scam that cost him a hefty six-figure sum in cryptocurrency after he inadvertently installed malware disguised as a game-testing application.

Key Takeaways:

An experienced Web3 investor lost over $100,000 in just 24 hours due to malware embedded in a fake game testing program.
A well-designed website, active Discord server, and responsive team members contributed to the scam's success by evading initial suspicion.
This incident underscores the increasing threat of malware and highlights the risks associated with storing seed phrases in browser-based wallets.

Mark Koh, the founder of the support organization RektSurvivor, provided insights into his experience during an interview with the Chinese-language publication Lianhe Zaobao and in a LinkedIn post.

Singapore Entrepreneur Loses Six Figures in Crypto to Game-Testing Scam

The Scam Unfolds: Encountering a Fake Game Testing Opportunity

The scam started on December 5, when Koh found what seemed to be a legitimate beta testing opportunity for an online game named MetaToy through Telegram.

Koh was led to believe that the project was credible thanks to its sleek website, active Discord community, and the quick responses from team members. As a seasoned investor and evaluator of various Web3 projects, he initially saw no cause for concern.

However, everything changed when he downloaded the MetaToy game launcher. The installer stealthily introduced malware to his computer.

Despite having Norton antivirus software, which flagged suspicious activity, Koh tried to manage the issue by running complete system scans, deleting dubious files and registry entries, and even reinstalling Windows 11.

Unfortunately, his efforts were too late. Within a mere 24 hours, all software wallets linked to his Rabby and Phantom browser extensions had been drained.

In total, Koh lost 14,189 USDT, approximately 100,000 yuan, which he had painstakingly accumulated over eight years. He remarked that the attack felt highly orchestrated and urged others—particularly angel investors and developers who are likely to download beta software—to take more precautions.

Koh suggested that users should remove seed phrases from browser-based wallets when they're not in use and consider using private keys instead to reduce exposure across derivative wallets.

The fraud has been reported to the Singapore police, who informed Lianhe Zaobao that they have received a report regarding the incident.

Rising Malware Threats in the Crypto World

The MetaToy incident reflects a broader surge in malware attacks targeting cryptocurrency users. In October, McAfee alerted users that hackers were misusing GitHub repositories to maintain connections to banking malware.

This year has seen various malicious schemes, including fake AI tools, harmful Captchas, and compromised Ethereum code extensions, all aimed at distributing crypto-stealing malware.

Related Case: Investor Loses $3M in Crypto Phishing Scam

In August, another cryptocurrency investor lost $3.05 million in Tether (USDT) due to a phishing scam that involved unknowingly signing a rogue blockchain transaction.

This loss, highlighted by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, emphasizes the growing risk of phishing attacks aimed at digital asset holders.

The attacker capitalized on a common behavior among crypto users: validating only the first and last few characters of a wallet address while disregarding the middle section.

According to CertiK’s latest security report, crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, primarily due to wallet vulnerabilities and phishing scams. Wallet breaches alone contributed to $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for more than $410 million across 132 attacks.