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The scam taskforces have been very successful in terms of creating awareness of the various scams and deceptive people.

This was highlighted by the Permanent Secretary of Trade Corporative and SMEs Shaheen Ali when asked about how successful the task force has been.

Ali says that the work of the scam task force is not a static one as the types of scams that have occurred in our country continue to evolve.

He also emphasized that the scam task force needs to meet on a regular basis and the ministry is planning through the Consumer Council of Fiji to have a Scam Awareness Week in the coming months.

“So there are various things that are being done, in the short term, medium term and long term. In the long term, we are also working with the Office of Solicitor General, FCCC and Consumer Council, to look at how we can strengthen some of our laws and regulations.”

Ali says the important component of the scam task force is that they have partners that they constantly work with like Vodafone and Digicel, and the Fiji Police.

The PS of Trade states that with the task force, they have been able to successfully prosecute a number of people who are committing scams.

Ali adds that the success of the scam task force is a collaborative effort where the government is involved and the whole country.

He states that this is where they see the value, of creating awareness, taking action, to educate the people of Fiji regarding evolving financial crimes such as scams.