Police have urged the public to remain vigilant amid a rise in online scams exploiting medical emergencies to solicit donations.
Police Anti-Scam Centre said there has been a sharp increase in Facebook posts recently using photos of patients and appeals for financial assistance. However, many of these posts are fraudulent.
According to police, scammers often take photos of patients from websites and reuse them to manipulate people’s emotions. The posts typically describe serious illnesses, often involving children, in order to gain sympathy and persuade people to send money.
The centre said scammers also use tactics such as avoiding phone calls. In many cases, the contact numbers included in the posts do not answer calls but respond only to messages.
Authorities advised the public to verify such appeals before making donations.
Police recommended calling the numbers listed in the posts to confirm their authenticity and conducting online checks to ensure the images used are genuine. One way to do this is through Google Reverse Image Search, which can help identify whether the photos have been taken from other sources.
The Anti-Scam Centre also urged people not to share suspicious posts.
Sharing unverified posts can encourage others to fall victim to scams and indirectly support criminal activity, police said.
To raise awareness, police also shared screenshots of one such scam post. The post claimed a single mother had a three-year-old child who is suffering from illness and sought financial assistance, including the use of a name and ID number. The post also state that she is suffering from asthma as well. It also included religious references and hadiths about helping those in need.
Police previously warned the public about similar scams circulating through a Facebook page called “Dheenuge Magu”, which frequently posts requests for donations related to serious illnesses. The page has thousands of followers in Maldives, and many of its posts have been widely shared.
