Statistics have shown that scam cases reported to the police in July were high, and that a total nearing MVR 1.4 million had been lost to the cases.

According to the July statistics shared by the police yesterday, 180 total scam cases were reported, with public losses reaching MVR 1.36 million.

Scams related to e-commerce were the highest, with 43 percent of the reported cases in July being attributed to that.

Police said from the combined efforts of the police, related agencies and financial institutions, more than MVR 600,000 of the money that was lost has been recovered, which is 46 percent from the total financial losses from reported cases in July.

There were an average of six scam cases that were reported daily in July. Each case saw an average loss of more than MVR 7,000.

As per the police, there have been  major financial losses due to scams conducted via social media, e-commerce platforms, messaging applications and unofficial financial networks.

Police stated that the recovery of a large sum of the money that was lost to scams in July shows the importance of immediately reporting fraudulent transactions.

Police also said that once it is clear money has been sent to a scammer, the transaction is to be reported to the bank that was used or the financial institution and then to report the case to the police.

Additionally, the police said it is important to safely keep all of the information related to the transaction.

If there is a delay in reporting the matter, the police said the opportunity for the money obtained through scamming will go through multiple accounts, withdrawal or for it to be sent abroad increases, reducing the chances it can be recovered.

And so, the police urged everyone to always pay attention when conducting financial transactions, to ensure the identity of the individual before sending funds and to ensure the validity of the transaction.