Several people had been victims of the scam where the culprits pretending to be bank officials had conned unsuspecting people of credit and debit card information. Speaking during a joint press conference with police, and telecommunication providers Dhiraagu and Ooredoo, Bank of Maldives' (BML) retail banking director Mohamed Shareef said anyone who had shared card details with an unknown person would just need to report it and the bank would block the existing card and issue a fresh one. Shareef admitted mounting complaints over the scam where several people had been conned off their security codes and pin numbers. "If we want to verify any personal details of a customer it would be the national identity card number. So we urge you to beware of calls asking for security codes or other private banking information," he said. According to Shareef, in addition to the calls the scam artists have even set up fake websites. Assistant police commissioner Abdulla Nawaz said the scam artists seem genuine and professional which was why so many people had been fooled. He said police are investigating the scams and the owners of the numbers are being questioned. But most of the numbers used in the scam are taken in somebody else's name which has hampered the investigation he said. "Numbers taken in the names of expats are also being used. I urge everyone to come forward with information relating to such calls," he added. Nawaz said police were working with Dhiraagu and Ooredoo to find the culprits. He vowed to bring the scam artists to justice as soon as possible.