Reports of cybercrime in the Maldives doubled in the first six months of this year, the Commissioner of Police has said, warning that criminals are now using artificial intelligence to make their approaches harder to spot.
Police figures show 1,053 cases were reported between January and June, compared with 512 in the same period last year, an increase of more than 105 percent. Commissioner of Police Ahmed Mohamed said 68 percent of the cases were crimes committed through social media.
He said the rise is driven mainly by carelessness and a lack of awareness among the public, and that individuals, businesses and government institutions alike are reporting cybercrime more often than before.
Criminals are increasingly using fake messages, and images and recordings created with generative artificial intelligence, to deceive people, the commissioner said.
The most common ways people are falling victim, he said, are clicking links that have not been verified, sharing one-time passwords, PIN numbers and passwords, and trusting people in online transactions without confirming who they are dealing with.
"Public responsibility is needed to ensure online safety," the commissioner said.
He urged the public to use strong passwords and never to share one-time password codes with anyone. Businesses were urged to bring their IT systems up to standard and to train staff to recognise online threats.
Police said they are continuing to build their capacity to investigate cybercrime and are running awareness programmes, which have reached more than 3,000 people so far this year.
October is observed internationally as Cyber Security Awareness Month.