News Desk
MALE’ — The police Anti-Scam Centre has recovered MVR 3,242,609 of the MVR 9,212,916 lost by members of the public to scams so far this year, according to figures released on Wednesday.
A total of 954 scam cases have been reported since January. The largest category by volume is online shopping fraud, with 535 cases where victims paid for goods that were never delivered. A further 157 cases involved money obtained through deception, 144 involved currency exchange fraud, and 57 involved other fraudulent transactions.
Scammers have primarily used phone calls, the iBay platform, and online messaging apps to carry out the schemes. Police also flagged phishing links and Facebook Marketplace as widely used tools.
The Anti-Scam Centre said scammers succeed partly because victims do not report incidents. Reporting quickly, the centre said, significantly improves the chances of recovering lost money.
Police urged the public to verify the identity of anyone before sending money, avoid sharing personal information with unknown parties, and enable two-factor authentication on social media accounts.
