CUTS International to BoG: Deal with sim swap fraud

The Consumer Unity and Trusts Society (CUTS) International has questioned the seeming delay on the part of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in dealing with sim swap fraud in the country.

This follows the arrest of four persons in connection with the menace by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Talking to Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (7 April), the West Africa regional director of CUTS International, Appiah-Kusi Adomako said the development is a major threat to the financial sector.

“This is a big issue, it happened to a brother of mine who lost close to GHC 250,000 a couple of years ago,” he said.

“And when the thing happened it was between the bank guys and telcos guys who managed to do those thing, so I think this is a big security threat to our financial system.

“We have raised this issue for many years, and it still beats my imagination why the central bank has not taken any action on that,” Adomako said.

Listen to Appiah-Kusi Adomako in the attached audio below:

EOCO arrest four in GHC200,000 sim swap fraud

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in collaboration with the Ghana Association of Banks, has arrested four persons engaged in sim swap fraud.

The suspects, according to a representative of the Association of Banks, Ransford Nana Addo Jnr were picked up at various locations in the country for colluding and illegally accessing the accounts of some Ghanaians from which they stole various amounts.

It emerged that they managed to withdraw an amount of about GHC200,000 before their cover was blown and subsequently apprehended by the security agency which was working closely with the banks.

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 can 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.

Fraud report

In the 2020 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. A total case count of 2,670 cases were recorded in the year 2020, as compared to 2,311 cases in 2019.

The reported value of fraud for 2020 was GHC1.0 billion, as compared to GHC115.51million 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

Losses incurred as a result of fraud for 2020 stand at GHC25.40 million, as compared to an estimated loss of GH¢33.44 million in 2019, representing a 24.0% decrease.

Meanwhile, the suspects will be arraigned before court later this week on various charges, EOCO officials said.

The latest arrest comes months after the executive director of EOCO, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah met with John Awuah CEO of the Ghana Association of Banks to collaborate with them in fighting fraud in the sector that is causing revenue leakages.

Commenting on the successful operation, Awuah praised the collaborative efforts with EOCO resulting in the arrest of the fraudsters. He cautioned miscreants to be warned as banks were sharing intelligence and have enhanced cooperation with all security agencies, especially EOCO to rid the banking sector of fraudsters.

Fred Dzakpata

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