Police at Mankessim in the Mfantseman municipality of the Central region have arrested three suspects linked to mobile money (MoMo) fraud, prompting a fresh warning to traders to be extra careful when carrying out electronic transactions.
The arrests follow intelligence led operations targeting fraud hotspots in busy business areas, especially marketplaces, where most of the incidents have been recorded.
The Mankessim Divisional Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hayford Alave, disclosed this during a public education exercise jointly organised by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the Ghana Police Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for traders in Mankessim.
He said investigations into the activities of the suspects are ongoing and described MoMo fraud as a serious and growing threat to traders in the area.
ASP Alave appealed to business people, particularly those who frequently use mobile money platforms, to remain alert, verify transaction details, and avoid sharing sensitive information such as PINs and one-time passwords with anyone.
He noted that intelligence reports indicate fraudsters have deliberately concentrated their operations in market centres and other high-traffic commercial zones to target unsuspecting traders.
The warning came as stakeholders engaged traders at the Mankessim market in a sensitisation campaign on telecommunications safety, fraud prevention, and network quality issues.
The event formed part of broader efforts to curb rising cyber-enabled fraud and to address persistent complaints about poor network performance in parts of the Central region.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, also took the opportunity to debunk a common myth that telecom towers cause cancer, reassuring residents that there is no scientific basis for such claims.
She stressed that the real challenge affecting network quality in the region stems from damage to fibre optic infrastructure rather than any fault within the telecommunications companies’ systems.
Many residents and traders in the Central region have recently complained about poor internet connectivity and unstable mobile network services.
Responding to these concerns at the Mankessim event, the Chamber’s CEO explained that the disruptions are largely due to external factors ongoing road construction under the government’s “Big Push” programme and illegal mining (galamsey) activities that are destroying buried fibre optic cables.
She cited specific incidents along the Winneba–Mankessim road where major road construction disrupted communications from Winneba towards Cape Coast. Such outages, she said, have become increasingly common as excavation works frequently sever fibre lines buried along road corridors.
Madam Owusu-Ankomah appealed to residents and traders to exercise patience as efforts are underway to repair damaged cables and restore stable network services.
Some traders at the Mankessim event raised another concern: the possibility of insider collusion in MoMo fraud cases.
They urged telecommunications companies to conduct thorough background checks before employing staff, expressing suspicion that some employees might be conspiring with fraudsters to exploit illiterate or less tech-savvy customers.
Ghana Cards involved in multiple MoMo fraud registrations will be blocked – Sam George
Timothy Kwame Kakraba Gaison
