At a time when the world is battling a deadly virus with leaders finding ways to secure their citizens as well as health professionals working hard to find a cure, fraudsters have taken advantage of the chaos to dupe people.
These scammers are using the cyber sphere to spread false information, fake news and sell illicit drugs.
In light of this, The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has adviced citizens to be wary of scammers capitalizing on the Coronavirus pandemic to sell authorized drugs to cure the virus, unapproved mobile money short codes for donation and Church offerings/tithes.
According to the security service, tricksters have taken advantage of the stigma surrounding the disease to attract unsuspecting individuals via the internet.
“Fraudsters have set up websites to sell bogus products, claiming to prevent the spread of COVID-19, don't deal with them.” The Ghana Police Service informed.
The GPS also warned the public to ignore emails claiming to be health sources that have information about the virus unless they have been verified by accredited institutions like the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Information Ministry, Health Ministry as well as the Ghana Health Service.
“Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know,” a strict warning from the Police Service’s Twitter handle read.
Below are screenshots of the warnings by the Ghana Police Service.