Police warn of fake business pages targeting Facebook users

The Maldives Police Service has warned the public to be cautious of Facebook pages posing as legitimate businesses.

In a social media post on Monday, the Police Anti-Scam Centre said it has identified an increase in cases involving fake business pages using registration numbers and invalid invoices to mislead customers.

The Anti-Scam Centre said some pages claim to operate as professional businesses while engaging in extortion and fraud. Police noted that such pages are commonly found operating under the names of furniture and jewellery businesses.

Police said there is a risk of fraud through the use of false business registration numbers and advised the public to verify the authenticity of businesses independently through the official business portal, even if a registration number is displayed on a Facebook page.

The Anti-Scam Centre also shared indicators the public should consider before making payments. Police said businesses generally use corporate bank accounts and warned that requests to transfer money to a private or personal account should be treated as a warning sign.

Police added that Facebook pages with disabled comments should not be considered legitimate businesses. They also said furniture businesses should have a showroom or warehouse and advised against dealing with businesses that fail to provide a physical address.

The police urged the public to carry out further checks before sending money. They advised users to review a page’s history, including whether it has been renamed, and to check the date of creation and the location of page administrators.

According to police, scammers often operate using new or inactive accounts. The public was advised to use reverse image searches to verify whether images used on pages are taken from other sources. Police also recommended calling the contact number listed on a page, noting that scammers often avoid direct calls and request communication through messaging applications such as Viber or WhatsApp.

Police said they have shared screenshots of Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp accounts linked to a page claiming to sell furniture under the name ‘Deck Online MV’. Some individuals who interacted with the page have raised complaints on social media regarding a lack of service.

The police have urged the public to share the information with family members and friends to reduce the risk of scams.