A civil servant lost more than $7000 from her bank account after scammers impersonating officers from the Fiji Police Force Cybercrime Unit threatened to arrest her over alleged links to drug mules.The scammers, armed with her personal information, convinced her to disclose her banking details and one-time password (OTP), allowing them to drain her account almost instantly.The case was highlighted by Consumer Council of Fiji campaigns, information and media manager Ziyad Parves during the National Cybersecurity and Resilience Convention in Suva on Wednesday.Mr Parves said the scammers knew the victim’s name, workplace, home address and date of birth, making their impersonation appear convincing.“Seeing as how they had so much information about her, she very easily believed that they were actually from the Fiji Police Cybercrime Unit,” he said.The callers falsely claimed her bank account was linked to drug mules and threatened to arrest her at her home.“As soon as her OTP was handed over, her account was instantly drained.”Mr Parves warned that such incidents were becoming increasingly common, with the council receiving reports of online scams almost every month.“These are not remote threats, they are actually happening to everyday Fijians.”Since 2022, the Consumer Council has received more than 1900 complaints involving online scams and fraud, with reported losses exceeding $3 million.However, Mr Parves said the actual financial impact could be significantly higher, as many victims reported their cases directly to police.He said the Reserve Bank of Fiji could provide a clearer picture of the total losses.The council has also identified growing concerns over scammers exploiting Viber, a messaging platform widely used by businesses and government agencies for official communication.In one case, scammers created a fake profile impersonating the Deputy Prime Minister to promote a fraudulent investment scheme.Another case involved the impersonation of a Suva hotel manager over three to four months, during which reception staff were deceived into transferring money to supposed vendors.Mr Parves said advances in artificial intelligence were making fraudulent schemes increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect.Examples included an AI-generated deepfake impersonating the Reserve Bank governor and fraudulent BSP loan advertisements.He also raised concerns about gaps in Fiji’s legal framework, saying laws addressing scams remained fragmented, with no central policy to tackle the growing threat.Mr Parves urged members of the public to remain vigilant, never disclose 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