Police say MVR 1.9 million lost to scams last month, with ecommerce fraud leading the cases

The police’s Anti-Scam Centre reports that MVR 1.9 million was lost to scams last month, with 179 cases filed during the period.

According to the centre, 89 cases were fully recovered while 45 cases saw partial recovery. Police said they recovered MVR 4.6 million in total last month, including funds from cases reported in earlier months.

The highest number of scams reported in December were linked to ecommerce and online business, with 80 cases recorded. The second-highest category was scams carried out under the guise of money laundering, with 31 cases reported.

Other cases included:

• Impersonation: 44 cases

• Phishing, wishing and job scams: 16 cases

• Other scam types: 8 cases

Police said scammers used a range of platforms, including phone calls, eBay, online messaging apps, phishing links and Facebook Marketplace.

With widespread social media use in the Maldives, authorities say fraud and extortion through such platforms continue to rise.

Earlier, police revealed that between 2011 and March 17 last year, scammers stole MVR 110 million from 6,000 victims, and not a single perpetrator was identified.