The Commissioner of Police, Ismail Naveen, has said that the establishment of Maldives Police Service (MPS) presence in all islands of Maldives will aid efforts to crackdown on online scamming operations.
In the first media interview after his appointment as the country’s new Police Commissioner, Naveen admitted that the widespread use of technology in the country has unfortunately led to a significant increase in online scams and other such criminal activities.
The Anti-Scam Center set up in March this year was established to focus on curbing the alarming increase in scam cases, Naveen said, adding that the threat was not confined domestically as both regional and international scammers are targeting the Maldives.
Noting that millions are lost in scam cases within a short period of time, the Commissioner said the authorities face many challenges in recovering the money.
The scammers usually use setups to withdraw the money through ATMs in the islands, he said. Once ongoing efforts to establish Police presence is completed, it will go a long way towards combating such scammers operating outside the capital Male’, he added.
"It is a huge challenge to recover the money. Because scammers withdraw the money from different islands with ATM service. It could be from an island with an ATM setup far away from the capital Male’" he explained.
Noting that inmates are also involved in these scams, Naveen said the MPS is working closely with Maldives Correctional Service to screen prisons during scam investigations.
Naveen said scammers usually target employees and businessmen as it is relatively easy to identify information about their jobs and businesses in a small society.
The Police Commissioner urged the public to report any unknown bank deposits to the police and the bank immediately.
Scam cases have become increasingly common in Maldives recently with authorities urging people not to click unknown links and to report such messages.