Digital fraud rises 98% in three years – Second Deputy BoG Governor

The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Matilda Asante-Asiedu, has warned of a sharp rise in financial fraud linked to digital transactions, with incidents in the digital space increasing by 98% between 2022 and 2025.

She said although fraud cases within the traditional banking system had declined, fraud across the wider financial sector increased from 16,733 cases in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025, representing a 48% increase.

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Speaking at the 2026 Committee for Co-operation between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community (COCLAB) Technical Committee workshop in the Eastern Region on Thursday, September 10, she said the trend showed that criminals were increasingly targeting digital platforms.

“The shift is not just in the statistics or the data, but it is also a shift in the financial crime landscape itself. We also have to have a shift in our strategy and in our mindset,” she said.

Asante-Asiedu stressed that cybersecurity must be treated as a concern for the entire financial sector because banks, fintech companies and payment service providers are interconnected.

“If that fraud incident happens, it transcends one institution, and it affects the entire financial ecosystem. So whether it is a mobile money transaction or a fintech transaction, it is all interwoven and intertwined,” she said.

She also called for stronger collaboration among financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to protect public confidence in digital transactions, stressing that trust remains critical to the financial sector.

“Trust is the currency that governs financial transactions. And as members of COCLAB, it is our combined duty to ensure that the public trust remains intact and uncompromised,” she said.

Asante-Asiedu noted that collaboration through COCLAB had already helped disrupt fraud syndicates, recover illicitly transferred funds and support investigations.

She cited the arrest of 430 people, including three foreign nationals, during an operation against illegal online operators in Accra, as well as the conviction of a bank employee who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling GH¢1.2 million.

She said the growing use of digital transactions meant authorities must stay ahead of fraudsters by adopting more proactive and coordinated measures.

“Fraudsters are sometimes six times ahead of us. They are always thinking of new ways. It is imperative that our intervention is also strategic, proactive and results-driven,” she said.

ANAS/MA

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