Maldives Police Service has stated that no police officers were involved in the scam where a Viber account was hacked, and money was extorted from a person.
Maldives Police Service has stated that no police officers were involved in the scam where a Viber account was hacked, and money was extorted from a person.
Police made this statement rejecting rumours of an officer being involved spreading on social media.
A post being circulated on social media since yesterday claims that an officer had been involved in the scam, attaching a photo of the accused officer along with the post.
In a statement released in response to this, Police said that the case involves the compromising of an individual's Viber account, and messaging those known to him. Police said that three other cases related to this are also currently under investigation.
Police said that upon the case being lodged, necessary measures had been taken, and the Viber account had been recovered and returned to its rightful owner. A total of MVR 10,100 extorted from three persons were deposited in accounts where the bank account and emails were compromised. Of the accounts that these funds had been rolled in, one has now been held, Police said.
"In the investigation into this case so far, no involvement of an officer has been found, nor any indication of such involvement," Police said.
However, Police said that one of the bank accounts used to roll the stolen funds belongs to the wife of a Police officer. They said that the account, and connected email had been compromised, and were being used by another party.
The case is being investigated by Police's Economic Crime Department. Efforts are ongoing to recover the stolen funds.
Police also voiced concerns in the statement about spreading misinformation that has a negative impact on their institution.
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