Malé, Maldives – The Maldives Police Service (MPS), last night, informed that cybercrimes in the Maldives increased by 63 percent by end of June 2021.
Speaking to RaajjeTV, Aminath Mohamed, Sub inspector, Economic Crime Department said that cybercrimes increase exponentially in the country due to restrictive measures placed to curb Covid-19.
Cybercrimes during the 2020 lockdown period increased by 58 percent when compared to the same period in 2019. As per the most recent statistics, by the end of June 2021, cybercrimes increased by 63 percent.
While most cybercrimes are committed in free wifi zones, most blackmail cases are targeted at 18 to 35 year olds, with more female victims reporting such cases than males.
In addition to blackmail cases, there has been an increase in scams and conning people using the internet.
Police previously informed that over MVR 7.4 million was stolen by scam within the past one year. Last year alone, Police received about 226 cases of stealing money through scams and cons from people.
Police recommend exercising caution when using the internet.
