Omanghana
The presiding judge of the Assin Fosu District Court in the Central Region, His Worship Abdul Majid Iliasu, has recounted how a suspected mobile money fraudster attempted to scam him shortly after he sentenced another person for a similar offence.
The incident occurred moments after the court had concluded proceedings in a mobile money fraud case involving Prince Mensah.
Mensah had been fined GH¢9,000 for defrauding a mobile money vendor of GH¢37,000. Shortly after the court rose, the judge prepared to leave the premises when he received a telephone call from an unknown person.
The caller claimed to have mistakenly transferred money to the judge’s account and asked him to reverse or otherwise address the supposed transaction.
A text message purporting to have been sent by a telecommunications company arrived soon after the call, apparently to convince the judge that money had been deposited into his account.
His Worship Iliasu immediately recognized the strategy as a common mobile money fraud technique. After checking the supposed transaction, he confirmed that the message was fraudulent and that no genuine transfer had been made.
The judge humorously described the timing of the attempted scam as remarkable, noting that he had just dealt with a case involving a similar offence.
He laughed off the incident but observed that fraudsters appeared willing to target anyone, regardless of the person’s position or status in society.
His Worship Iliasu shared the experience while presiding over proceedings involving an electronic transaction crime case. He used the incident to highlight the persistent threat posed by mobile money and other forms of digital financial fraud.
The judge renewed his call on the Ghana Police Service and the country’s cybersecurity authorities to intensify efforts to identify, arrest and prosecute individuals involved in electronic fraud.
Mobile money users are commonly targeted through false transaction alerts, calls about supposed accidental transfers and requests to disclose security information or reverse payments that were never received.
Members of the public are therefore advised to verify transactions through their official mobile money accounts before sending funds and to avoid acting solely on text messages or telephone calls from unknown individuals.
Source: Omanghana
