Sri Lanka, July 23 -- The Sri Lanka Police have issued an urgent public warning over a surge in financial scams involving fraudsters impersonating police officers and other government officials to steal money and sensitive banking information.

Police said criminals are using stolen or fabricated photographs to create fake profiles on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram to deceive members of the public. Despite previous arrests and awareness campaigns, police said people continue to fall victim to the scams.

According to police, victims are contacted by individuals falsely claiming to represent the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), or other police investigation units. The callers typic...