The Cyber Crime Department of the Maldives Police Service has reported substantial progress in recovering money lost to scams, with 37 per cent of lost funds now recovered since the establishment of the Anti-Scam Center.

Inspector of Police Sham Mohamed said 1,663 cases have been reported to the centre this year. Since 2021, over 1,000 people in the Maldives had fallen victim to scams, resulting in losses exceeding MVR 100 million. Prior to the establishment of the centre, only 2 per cent of lost funds were recovered.

The Anti-Scam Center has, since its inception, implemented measures to freeze accounts associated with scam losses, with 2,949 accounts frozen for 48 hours without a court order, and 754 accounts frozen following court approval. Six cases have been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution, while 662 cases have been resolved.

The centre has identified 12 main types of scams, including unknown perpetrators, investment scams, scams via links, romance scams, job offer scams, identity theft, and business email compromise. The most common type involved victims being scammed without knowing the perpetrator, with 242 cases reported.

Police noted that, despite earlier challenges due to limited investigative resources, the Anti-Scam Center has enabled more effective identification of perpetrators and recovery of funds.