Cyber intelligence by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in collaboration with the Ghana Association of Banks, has led to the arrest of four person for their alleged engagement in SIM swap fraud amounting to GHc200, 000.
The suspects were said to have been picked up at various locations in the country for colluding and illegally accessing the accounts of some Ghanaians from which they stole various amounts .
A representative of the Association of Banks, Ransford Nana Addo Jnr explained that the suspects managed to withdraw an amount of about GHC200,000 using their their modus operandi before their cover was blown and subsequently apprehended.
This latest arrest follows months of engagement between the Executive Director of EOCO, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) and John Awuah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Association of Banks in aspect of fighting fraud in the sector to block revenue leakages.
The CEO of the Ghana Association of Banks was full of praise about the collaborative efforts with EOCO resulting in the arrest of the fraudsters.
He warned miscreants against such crime saying that stakeholders are on high alert and sharing intelligence which have enhanced cooperation with all security agencies especially EOCO to rid the banking sector of fraudsters.
SIM swap fraud occurs when fraudsters obtain a new SIM card from a person’s mobile service provider using the person’s registered phone number.
They get One Time Passwords (OTPs) and other alerts required to conduct financial transactions through the person’s bank account with the help of this new SIM.
In the year 2020 the banking sector fraud report released by the Bank of Ghana Banks witnessed a marginal increase in reported fraud incidents with a minimal decrease in losses.
The reduction in losses was mainly due to a reduction in the rate of success for most fraud types as a total case count of 2,670 cases were recorded in the year 2020, as compared to 2,311cases in 2019.
The Reported value of fraud for 2020 was GH¢1billion, as compared to GH¢115.51million recorded in 2019.
The notable increase in the value reported was as a result of high values recorded in attempted correspondent banking fraud (forgery of SWIFT advice). Even though the banking sector did not suffer any losses from any of the correspondent banking fraud attempts, it posed a reputational risk to some banks, whose staff were found culpable in two of the three reported incidents. Losses incurred as a result of fraud for 2020 stands at GH¢25.40 million, as compared to an estimated loss of GH¢33.44 million in 2019, representing a 24.0% decrease.
Meanwhile, the suspects would be put before when investigations are completed.
By Vincent Kubi