70 Per Cent Of Mobile Money Scams Are Preventable – Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

The Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has said about 70 per cent of mobile money scams in the country could have been prevented if patrons of the services were aware of the risks associated with the operations of such services as some Ghanaians are getting worried over the increasing cases of Mobile Money fraud in the country.

The issue is said to threaten the growth of the industry as well as financial inclusion.

Some victims of Mobile Money fraud who narrated their ordeal to Citi Business News expressed worry over the canker.

Mobile money which hitherto was a safe means of transacting business now seems to be an opportunity for scammers.

Speaking at the launch of the National Cyber Security awareness month 2018 and the launch of the National Cyber Security Awareness Programme at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the criminal elements behind the cloned accounts used such accounts to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, explaining that, “there is ample reason for the persistent of these scams and is very simple… lack of awareness on cyber risks and trends by the majority of our citizens is the reason.”

However, a month-long awareness programme dubbed “A Safer Digital Ghana” has been launched.

The awareness month is to bring to the attention of the general public, the already critical importance of security within the cyber ecosystem of our country, as well as the profound impact of dynamic technologies in our lives.

The Safer Digital Ghana campaign, focusing on four key thematic areas – Children, the Public, Business and the Government – has been developed to respond to the increasing spate of cyber crimes and cyber security breaches which could potentially undermine the gains from Ghana’s digitalization agenda, according to officials of the Ministry of Communication.