The Anti-Scam Center of the Maldives Police Service has urged the public to exercise caution with SIM card transactions amid a surge in scam-related activities.

The advisory comes in response to a growing number of cases where individuals have used SIM cards to extort money by impersonating government agencies and state-owned enterprises through fraudulent messages.

In a social media post, the Anti-Scam Center warned that individuals are personally accountable for any transactions made using SIM cards registered under their names.

The Centre further advised that if a person does not have control over a SIM card in their name, they should promptly disconnect the service to prevent misuse.

Fraud and extortion cases have been on the rise, with the Anti-Scam Center reporting incidents totaling MVR 270,000 during the recent Eid holidays alone. Of this amount, only MVR 75,776 was successfully recovered.