Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has warned salesmen of internet payment fraud as hacking grows.
Fraudsters’ newest target seems to be emails of business professionals who transfer money electronically to destinations outside of Ghana.
Transactions to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other European countries are prime targets.
Criminals use information tracked from communication on supplies, shipments and payments to divert the money into their personal accounts.
Three mentioned cases within the first six months of 2013 alluded to the loss of GBP10,000 (US$15,337), US$75,000 and GHC400,000 (US$194,360) respectively.
Felix Koku Mawusi, superintendent director of the commercial crime unit of the CID, explained hackers’ tracking of emails with intervention at the payment stage, followed by false proof of payment confirmations.
Muwusi instructed businessmen and -women to be careful, using secure payment sites for transactions without revealing passwords to assistants.
“There is the need for Ghanaian business people to go behind the internet to establish face to face contacts to know their trading partners wherever they are located before they transfer funds to them,” he said, as reported by Ghana Business Agency.
