Scammers stole over MVR 110 million from 6,000 victims: Police

More than MVR 110 million has been stolen from around 6,000 people over the past four years, police said on Thursday.

The Police Anti-Scam Centre released the figures at a press conference held to outline trends in scam-related cases in the Maldives.

Police Inspector Adam Naveed said scam cases have increased worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp rise also recorded in the Maldives. He said reported fraud cases had increased by about 200 per cent during the period.

According to Naveed, from 2021 until the establishment of the Anti-Scam Centre this year, scammers defrauded more than 6,000 victims, with losses amounting to over MVR 110 million. He said the organisers behind the scams had not yet been identified.

“Scams involve hiding behind technology and using fraudulent methods to steal money,” Naveed said.

He explained that all cases had been reported to the police and financial institutions, but arrests were difficult under the previous Criminal Procedure Code. At the time, accounts could only be frozen following a court order.

Naveed said that although warrants were sought by submitting evidence, scammers often transferred funds out of accounts within minutes, leaving no recoverable balance by the time a court order was obtained.

He said a key change came with amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code by the current parliament, allowing accounts to be frozen without a court order.

Speaking later, Naveed said around 80 per cent of recent scam cases were linked to organised groups already known for criminal activity. He said the legal amendment would make it easier to identify and act against them.

Police also released figures on scam cases reported this year. According to the data:

The reported cases were categorised as follows: