The Fiji Police Force has received a total of 1356 complaints involving the online payment system M-PAiSA as of February 7, 2026, Director of CID Serupepeli Neiko has revealed.
Speaking at the World Safer Internet Day in Nadi, Mr Neiko said online fraud through M-PAiSA was trending, with social media platforms such as Facebook, Viber, and WhatsApp often used to target victims.
“Since the establishment of the M-PAiSA taskforce, complaints worth $432,000 have been investigated. We have successfully prosecuted 325 cases, recovering $347,395,” he said.
Fraud schemes involve rental cars, online shopping for clothing, furniture, gadgets, food, groceries, cars, timber, video games, accessories, online investments, visa scams, taxi permits, and villa scams.
Most suspects are aged 18–38 (68.25 per cent), with the 39–59 age group making up 31.32 per cent. Victims are primarily iTaukei (53 per cent), male (57–58 per cent), and unemployed (50–51 per cent).
Victims are spread across Fiji: Southern Division 44.5 per cent, Western 20.8 per cent, Eastern 13.2 per cent, Central Division 12 per cent, and Northern Division 11.2 per cent. Mr Neiko warned the public to remain vigilant as mobile payment abuse continues to rise.
