67.9 Percent of Funds Lost to Scams Recovered Last Week!
11 ނޮވެމްބަރު 2026 | ބުދަ 11:01More than MVR 300,000 was lost to scams during the first week of November, with the Maldives Police Service successfully recovering 67.99 percent of the stolen funds. While the majority of reported cases involved fraudulent currency exchange schemes, authorities continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and refrain from sharing sensitive information, such as One-Time Passwords (OTPs), with any third parties.
Recovering funds lost to scams. | police
The Maldives Police Service's Anti-Scam Centre has reported that 38 cases involving various types of scams were filed between November 1 and November 7.
According to statistics released by the center for the past week, over 300,000 Rufiyaa was lost to scams in the last week alone. The data reveals that a total of MVR 356,163.40 was lost during this period.
The Anti-Scam Center has announced that it has successfully recovered 67.99 percent of the lost funds, totaling MVR 245,389.64.
Currency exchange scams were the most frequently reported fraudulent activity over the past week, according to the center, which noted that 12 such cases were filed. The center further detailed that the reports included nine cases related to e-commerce, four cases of unauthorized transactions, and four investment-related scams. Additionally, there were three cases involving booking cancellations or refunds, three cases of inadvertent scams, and three other miscellaneous reports.
The Anti-Scam Centre has urged the public to refrain from sharing personal identification numbers (PINs), one-time passwords (OTPs), or bank codes with anyone. The center further cautioned that any request for an OTP, even if the caller claims to be from a bank or any other official institution, is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information. Authorities advise individuals to terminate such calls immediately and report the incident.
