Fraud on the rise; 142 scam cases reported in April alone

The Anti-Scam Center of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) has revealed that 142 scam cases were reported to authorities in the past month alone.

Sharing the statistics for April, the Anti-Scam Center revealed that a total of 142 scam cases were reported. Among these, the majority were e-commerce and foreign currency exchange scams.

The Anti-Scam Center recorded 64 e-commerce scams, 38 foreign currency exchange frauds, and 19 phone-based scam cases in April. Facebook Marketplace was the most commonly used platform, linked to 52 cases, followed by Viber, which was used in 30 incidents.

The Anti-Scam Center has advised against sharing any personal information online and urged people to verify if currency exchange services have a license from the central bank, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

In addition to this, the center recently warned about compromised Telegram accounts and advised caution from the public.

The Anti-Scam Center has been working diligently to protect citizens and raise awareness about such scams. The police institution has stated that scammers are attempting to compromise users' accounts through messaging platform Telegram.

Authorities have issued guidelines to protect the public from scams, urging individuals not to click on suspicious links or share verification codes. The Anti-Scam Center has also advised caution, even if the message appears to come from a trusted contact. Additionally, the center has encouraged people to share these warnings with others to help spread awareness.

Further, authorities have outlined steps for victims of scams, including immediately changing passwords for email and related accounts, reporting suspicious activities to banks or card issuers, notifying the relevant application or platform with transaction details, and filing a report with the police and other authorities. Victims are also encouraged to share their experiences to help raise awareness and alert others.

To enhance online shopping security, authorities recommend using a dedicated email address for transactions, opting for secure payment methods such as credit cards or virtual cards, and ensuring apps are only downloaded from trusted sources like the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. In addition to this, using anti-phishing software can provide an extra layer of protection.

Scams masquerading as online shopping platforms are a growing concern, making public awareness and precautionary measures crucial in preventing such fraud. If you fall victim to these scams, taking immediate action and reporting the incident to the relevant authorities can help protect others from similar threats.