The Maldives Police Service has warned that romance scammers can spend months building trust online before asking for money, using artificial intelligence to create convincing photographs, videos and voice messages.
In a social media advisory, police cautioned that prolonged conversations and familiarity with someone’s appearance or voice should not be taken as proof of their identity.
Fraudsters may cultivate a relationship over an extended period before making financial requests.
Police urged people to pause if someone they met online asks for money or personal information, even if they feel they know the person well.
Members of the public were advised to verify who they are communicating with before transferring funds or sharing personal details.
Anyone who suspects a scam should report it to police immediately, the advisory said.
The message was issued under the awareness hashtag “#DontTakeTheBait”, encouraging the public to stop and verify suspicious requests.
The warning comes amid continuing reports of financial fraud in the Maldives
Official Anti-Scam Centre figures for the period from 1 July to 30 September 2026 recorded 544 scam-related cases, including eight romance scams.
E-commerce fraud accounted for the largest share, with 230 cases, followed by currency exchange scams with 107 cases.
Across the cases recorded during that three-month period, reported losses totalled approximately MVR 5.26 million. Police recovered about MVR 3.10 million, equivalent to 59.1 percent of the reported losses.
Police have also recently warned about fraudsters impersonating the authorities on messaging platforms such as Viber.
In an October advisory, they urged the public not to disclose bank account details, one-time passwords or other sensitive information to people claiming to represent the police.
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