Minister for Communication, Digitization Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has disclosed that his ministry has intensified efforts to combat cyber fraud in Ghana, highlighting the takedown of 738 social media accounts used to impersonate VIPs, including the Speaker of Parliament and other prominent figures.
During a parliamentary session, Mr. George responded comprehensively to questions on the ministry’s strategies to address the alarming rise in cyber fraud cases across the country.
He noted that cybercrime incidents have escalated due to increasingly sophisticated methods employed by fraudsters, resulting in significant financial losses for individuals and businesses.
“For instance, between January and September 2025, the Cyber Security Authority recorded 14,425 cases,” the minister stated.
To tackle these challenges, the CSA has adopted a multi-pronged approach focused on enhanced collaboration, regulatory enforcement, and public education.
On enforcement, Mr. Sam George outlined the critical role of partnerships with national and international law enforcement agencies.
He said “The authority closely collaborates with international partners such as Interpol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, National Cyber Crime Agency of the United Kingdom, the Africa Forum of Computer Emergency Response Teams, Africa CERT, and the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, FAST.
“These engagements provide access to threat intelligence as well as cyber incident response measures,” he added.
Locally, he emphasized that cooperation with the Ghana Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has yielded significant results.
He noted “the collaboration with the CID of the Ghana Police has led to the arrest of 65 suspects, including 49 foreign nationals involved in sophisticated online fraud schemes in June 2025.
“A major coordinated crackdown on cyber crime in August 2025 led to the arrest of 39 individuals in Adom City Estate and Temak, Comtee 25, and the Ningo-prampram Constituency of the Greater Accra Region.”
He again stressed that in October 2025, 10 people were arrested with Cyber Security Authority’s support for running fake online food delivery platforms designed to defraud customers.
Mr. Sam George also emphasized strengthened ties with digital platform owners to disrupt fraudulent activities.
He disclosed “the Cyber Security Authority currently maintains a direct relationship with Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and ByteDance, the owners of TikTok.”
He added that efforts are underway to formalize partnerships with platforms such as X, Snapchat, and LinkedIn.
“The authority is currently working to establish a similar working relationship with the owners of X, Snapchat, and LinkedIn.
“The Cyber Security Authority has collaborated with social media platform owners and other digital service providers through the CETS, which led to taking down 203 website domains found to be engaged in fraudulent activities,” he remarked.
Furthermore, the CSA, in coordination with telecom providers, has blocked 1,380 mobile numbers linked to cybercrime operations.
Sam George stated, “We have taken down 738 social media accounts used in impersonating VIPs, including your very good self(Speaker of Parliament) and members of parliament and government appointees and other high-profile persons, and we’ve neutralised those accounts.
“The collaboration with telecom service providers has also resulted in the blocking of 1,380 mobile numbers used for nefarious activities, including online fraud,” he added.
On increasing public awareness, Sam George indicated that the CSA has issued 11 public alerts and 4 technical advisories since January 2025 to educate citizens and institutions about common cyber scams, including fraudulent investments and fake job offers.
Again, he disclosed that his ministry also launched the “Safer Digital Ghana” campaign in July 2025, funded by the World Bank.
This nationwide initiative included regional forums, social media drives, and stakeholder engagements culminating in the 2025 Cyber Security Awareness Month. The campaign centered on protecting children, the general public, businesses, and government under the theme: “Building a Safe, Informed, and Accountable Digital Space.”
One notable activity was a sensitization program that reached 58,000 children to promote online safety
Lastly, Mr. George revealed ongoing efforts to review the Cyber Security Legislation Act 1038.
“We are taking public memoranda, we’ve opened it up to the public, the zero draft is ready, we’re taking memoranda, we’ve received over 600 memoranda, and that is going to be considered and we’ll hold our in-person stakeholder engagements and hopefully next year lay the amendments which will strengthen our capacity and ability to deal with cyber fraud in a responsible and responsive manner as the government.”
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
