Security agencies alert public on scam group

The security agencies have alerted members of the public, particularly business executives and key officials of both public and private sector organisations to the activities of numerous scam groups.

According to the Daily Graphic a minimum of four complaints are received each week about the activities of these groups mostly after they have succeeded in defrauding their victims.

David Kingdom, a 61-year old half-caste has been in the centre of the activities of the various groups, posing as an expatriate interested in doing business with the prospective business executives.

Kingdom, who has a Scottish father and an Akuapem mother, interchangeably uses Donald Patt and Hans Mayor as the "supposed" investor. He is currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) following one such fraud case, which was published in the October 2nd edition of the "Daily Graphic".

A source at the BNI, which disclosed the methods used by the scam group said their members access the addresses of business executives or manage to get their business cards through which they establish contact.

The fraudsters would usually call and pretend to be outside the country and request for a particular product said to be in high demand in the purported country from where they are supposedly, calling from.

The caller would then direct the recipient to contact someone believed to have such a product or who could assist. It said astronomical profit margins are always quoted by the callers, thereby enticing people to fall prey.

The source said the fraudsters usually package sand, seeds and oil, which they label as special products from a foreign country.

It said the unfortunate thing is that most of the people they cheat are influential people including foreign executives, who would not like publicity.