By Francis Ntow
Accra, June 19, GNA – The amount that people lost through Mobile Money (MoMo) fraud increased by twice in 2022, compared to what was lost in 2021, despite a reduction in the number of MoMo fraud incidents recorded last year.
This is disclosed in the 2022 trends and statistics of Banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) fraud report of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The report showed that GHS27 million was lost in 2022, compared to GHS14.2m losses in 2021, representing a 47-percentage increase, while some recoveries were made, reducing the actual loss to approximately GHS26 million.
The Payment Service Providers recorded 12,166 MoMo related fraud incidents in 2022 compared to the 12,350 incidents in 2021, indicating a one per cent rise in the number of fraud incidents recorded between 2021 and 2022.
The fraud incidents were recorded through wrong transfers (where a victim inadvertently transfers money to a wrong MoMo wallet and the recipient immediately cashes out) and cash reversals (where fraudsters convince victims and demand reversal of a fictitious transaction from their account).
This development comes as the usage of electronic channels for transactions by consumers continues to rise among Ghanaians, with MoMo becoming the predominant means of electronic transactions in the country.
The Central Bank made a call on stakeholders in the financial sector and financial technology (fintech) sectors, including Payment Service Providers to develop adequate fraud mitigation tools to help curb fraud.
In 2022, the value of e-money transactions amounted to GHS1 trillion, with the volume of e-money transactions being five billion, compared to the GHS978.32 billion in value and 4.25bn volume of e-money transactions in 2021, BoG stated.
According to the report, the losses were due multiple factors, including the inability of the vulnerable to read.
The lack of attention to security by most people in using the mobile money application and lack of security awareness had largely contributed to victims easily falling prey to fraudsters, BoG stated.
It was also observed that some users of MoMo did not periodically change their PIN, making them easily prone to fraudsters.
Also, the account of the aged and uneducated were compromised because they had to give them out to a third party for transactions.
The Central Bank indicated that it had engaged the financial entities to put in stringent measures to mitigate the impact of the fraudulent activities.
It also said there was the need to undertake major sensitisation of customers of MoMo in multiple local languages to enable the vulnerable to appreciate it.
The annual fraud report, published by the Bank of Ghana seeks to inform the banking public of fraud trends.
The report reflects trends in fraud typologies observed in relation to services provided by Banks, SDIs and PSPs and measures the Central Bank is taking to address them to promote the integrity of the banking system.
GNA