Between January and June of this year, Ghana recorded direct financial losses of GH¢49.5 million due to cyber fraud activities. These reported losses represent only a fraction of cases reported to government agencies, suggesting that the actual financial losses from unreported cases may be higher.
Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, made this announcement during the media launch of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Accra on Sunday.
The theme for this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is “Promoting a Culture of Digital Safety.” Its goal is to raise awareness among Ghanaians and organizations about the opportunities and threats of cyberspace, promoting the responsible use of online resources for a safer environment.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako emphasized the need to increase awareness, especially among young people, despite progress in educating the public about cybersecurity issues. He mentioned that the Cyber Security Authority received 41,285 complaints from the public related to cybercrime and other activities between October 2019 and July 2023. Of these, 41 percent were related to online fraud, including shopping fraud, romance fraud, online blackmail, and identity fraud.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako called for collective and individual responsibility in protecting against digital fraud and encouraged the public to report online fraud issues to the Authority’s toll-free line at 292.
He also urged for better coordination among state agencies responsible for collecting statistics on arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of individuals involved in cyber fraud.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako highlighted the impact of global digitalization trends on businesses and noted that the government is creating opportunities and interventions for economic growth in this digital era.
Internet penetration in Ghana has significantly increased, with 17 million users in 2022, representing 53 percent of the population. Cybersecurity awareness is part of a global initiative to promote best practices for online safety.
Ghana began its National Cybersecurity Awareness efforts in 2017, leading to the establishment of the National Cyber Security Week, which later evolved into a month-long event.
According to the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI) 2023 report, Ghana is ranked fourth in Africa, with a score of 51.4%, showing substantial progress in connectivity over the past five years.
Ghana has also scored well in online security, with a score of 86.69% in the same report, consistent with its score on the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI).
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako emphasized that Ghana’s efforts to promote a culture of digital safety are based on the country’s cyberculture and societal dimension, as derived from cybersecurity assessments conducted in collaboration with the World Bank and the University of Oxford.
The assessments identified a lack of cybersecurity awareness among the Ghanaian public, inadequate security measures for government e-services, and knowledge gaps in fundamental cybersecurity concepts. The theme for this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, “Promoting a Culture of Digital Safety,” aims to address these concerns.
“We expect the media launch to set in motion a month-long national cybersecurity awareness creation that will assemble public and private sector players, cybersecurity professionals, the academia, and representatives from civil society organisations, in preparation for the NCSAM as we seek to encourage every Ghanaian to stay digitally alert,” Dr Antwi-Boasiako added.
In order to ensure the prudent, economical, and effective use of public resources and to create a streamlined mechanism for ensuring that cybersecurity service providers, establishments, and professionals in the nation carry out their duties in accordance with recognized international standards, he called for cooperative efforts to harmonize public procurement processes in the public service.
According to data from October 2019 to July 2023, 45% of recorded cases of internet fraud involved online shopping, investment fraud, romance scams, advance fee fraud, and fraud involving job applications. Cyberbullying (9%; Fake Loan Apps), illegal Access (10%; Account Takeover, Phishing, etc.), and Online Blackmail (13%).
Online Impersonation/Identity theft (8%)
The Point of Contact (PoC) portal has given citizens a way to fact-check information they find online and conduct due diligence before taking certain actions/decisions online, which can be attributed to the high numbers (37,559 (91%) for the direct advisories.
Therefore, people from all walks of life should contact the Cyber Security Authority through one of the channels listed below before making any online commitments, such as financial ones to buy a good, subscribe to a paid service, or make an investment of between GHC50 and thousands of Cedis. They should also avoid visiting or downloading malicious websites or downloading content that could disrupt business operations.