Parliament urges Consumer Council to tackle rising online scams

Parliament has called on the Consumer Council of Fiji to strengthen its capacity to handle the rising threat of online scammers and fraudsters targeting Fijian consumers.

The Standing Committee on Social Affairs made the recommendation in its consolidated review of the Council’s Annual Reports from 2019-2023, tabled in Parliament last week.

The report revealed scams and fraud complaints surged by over 40 per cent between 2019 and 2022, coinciding with increased online activity and mobile money use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The committee recommends that the council strengthened its own capacity to handle online scammers and fraudsters,” the report stated.

Council chief executive officer Seema Shandil told the committee that scam complaints continued to rise daily as more transactions moved to digital platforms.

“Every day we get some sort of complaint or consumers calling us saying that they have been scammed,” Ms Shandil said during the August public hearing.

The council has responded by launching a National Scam Awareness Week and embedding scam education into all community outreach programmes.

Ms Shandil said the council was working with the United Nations Capital Development Fund to review existing laws and recommend legislative changes to better protect scam victims.

However, the committee noted the council lacked enforcement powers and depended on partner agencies like police and the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission to take action against fraudsters.

The report identified landlord-tenancy disputes and food safety as the other top complaint categories, with scams ranking third.

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