Only a Fraction of Funds Lost in Recent Scams Has Been Recovered, Says Police 

The Maldives Police Service has revealed that only MVR 700,000 of the MVR 2.5 million lost to scams in recent months has been successfully recovered. 

The figure was disclosed during a special segment on SSTV’s Baaru Hathareh programme aired on Monday night, where police officers discussed the rising threat of fraud across the country.

According to Police Sergeant Fathimath Liusha, scams have surged across the Maldives, with social media being a primary platform for fraudulent activity. She highlighted that one of the most common tactics currently involves advertising items for sale online, with payments collected but goods never delivered. Additionally, scams involving fake links have become increasingly prevalent.

The total amount reported lost in scams over the past two months—since the establishment of the Police Anti-Scam Centre—stands at MVR 2.5 million. From this, only MVR 700,000 has been recovered to date. In the same period, scammers also defrauded victims of USD 30,000, of which USD 3,000 has been retrieved.

Sub-Inspector of Police Shafza Hassan noted that the Anti-Scam Centre receives four to five scam-related reports daily. Most involve transactions ranging between MVR 500 and MVR 2,000, although some cases have seen much larger sums. One such incident reportedly involved MVR 200,000.

Police stated that fraudulently acquired funds are typically transferred through multiple bank accounts to evade detection. However, new measures now permit the police to freeze suspicious accounts without first obtaining a court order. If recovery proves unsuccessful through this process, legal authorisation is then sought.

The public has been urged to remain especially cautious when making donations for medical treatment. Police continue to advise verifying the authenticity of recipient accounts before transferring funds. They have also called on the community to share any information that could help combat scam-related crimes, highlighting the role of collective responsibility in preventing fraud.