Two arrested for over MVR 200,000 in QR transactions

The police have arrested two suspects for making purchases worth MVR 200,000 after stealing internet banking information.

According to police, the case involves two people who compromised internet banking credentials and made over MVR 200,000 in purchases using the QR code scan feature in the internet banking application.

Police identified the suspects as a 25-year-old Maldivian male and a 27-year-old Maldivian male.

They were arrested on Saturday, February 18.

Both suspects have been remanded in custody of the police for 15 days.

The case is under investigation by the Economic Crime Department.

In light of an increase in scams, the Bank of Maldives (BML) made changes to its QR payment limits Tuesday. As such, the maximum limit for each QR transaction through the bank’s mobile wallet has been set to MVR 750, and the bank has set a daily limit of 10 QR transactions.

The police and banks continue to warn customers to be cautious of such scams, including refraining from clicking unknown links, and sharing internet banking information and passwords with others.