Omanghana
Online fraud accounted for 47% of all cybersecurity incidents reported in Ghana between January and July 2026, making it the country’s leading digital security threat.
The Cyber Security Authority disclosed that Ghana’s national Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-GH, recorded 3,876 cybersecurity incidents during the seven-month period. Of that number, 1,818 cases were classified as online fraud.
CSA Director-General Divine Selase Agbeti presented the figures at the launch of the 2026 National Cyber Security Awareness Month in Accra.
The annual campaign is being observed under the theme, “Securing Ghana’s Digital Finance Ecosystem: Building Trust Through Collaboration and Cyber Resilience.”
Agbeti said the rapid expansion of mobile money, digital banking, online shopping and electronic payment services had created new opportunities for economic growth. However, it had also provided cybercriminals with more avenues to target individuals, businesses and financial institutions.
Figures from the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 Fraud Report revealed a significant increase in fraudulent activity across the financial sector.
The total number of cases reported by banks, specialized deposit-taking institutions and payment service providers rose from 16,733 in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025. This represented an annual increase of 48%.
The total value at risk across the financial ecosystem was estimated at GH¢101 million.
Payment service providers recorded the sharpest increase in electronic fraud cases, with incidents rising by 54%. The value of funds at risk increased by 95%, climbing from GH¢19 million to GH¢37 million.
Agbeti warned financial institutions against treating cybersecurity as a technical matter reserved for information technology departments or as a routine exercise conducted solely to satisfy regulators.
He stressed that cybersecurity must be recognized as a board-level governance responsibility and an essential requirement for operational resilience.
According to him, public confidence in digital finance will weaken if customers believe mobile money accounts can be emptied without redress, bank transfers can be redirected, online merchants cannot be trusted or personal information can be misused without consequences.
The CSA also warned about the growing use of artificial intelligence by fraudsters. Criminals are increasingly using AI-powered voice cloning, automated social engineering and digital impersonation to make scams more convincing and bypass traditional verification systems.
To address the threat, the authority urged financial institutions and other organizations to introduce multi-factor authentication and strengthen their identity and access-management systems.
Institutions were also advised to conduct regular vulnerability assessments, improve real-time intelligence sharing and strengthen internal monitoring mechanisms to identify suspicious activity before money is stolen.
The CSA maintained that protecting Ghana’s digital financial ecosystem would require sustained cooperation among regulators, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, law-enforcement agencies and consumers.
Source: Omanghana
