Isaac Obour, a certified U.S.-based Ghanaian fraud examiner, has underscored the urgent need for Ghana to develop a comprehensive national fraud strategy.
He emphasised that the government must invest significant resources into executing robust measures to combat all forms of fraudulent activity effectively.
Drawing comparisons to international models, Mr. Obour noted that countries like the United Kingdom have invested £200 million into establishing fraud strategies specifically designed to protect their economies.
Similarly, he pointed out that the United States has developed a strategic framework where the Vice President serves as the Vice Chair of the policy team, signaling the high-level priority given to economic security.
The expert asserted that Ghana must follow suit by developing its own framework, particularly as fraud has evolved from simple financial crime into a systemic threat to digital trust and social stability.
While he acknowledged that Ghana has already implemented certain measures to crack down on these crimes, he insisted that more must be done to protect the nation’s progress in digital transformation, mobile money, e-commerce, and financial inclusion.
Speaking on the program As It Is in Ghana on Rainbow Radio (87.5FM Ghana and 92.4FM UK), Mr. Obour highlighted the lack of a structured system for tracking fraudsters.
He lamented the current absence of a proper response mechanism that allows victims to report issues and see them resolved efficiently.
To bridge this gap, he called for the establishment of a centralized national fraud reporting system. Such a channel would trigger a coordinated response involving law enforcement, banking institutions, telecommunications providers, fintech companies, and civil society organizations.
Regarding the benefits of this unified approach, he stated: “This unified approach would facilitate the identification and freezing of transactions by financial institutions, disruption of fraudulent communication channels by telecom operators and platforms, prompt investigations by law enforcement, and timely support for victims.”
Mr. Obour further warned that the global fraud network is currently valued at $1 trillion—a figure that exceeds the entire African economy. This massive scale, he argued, necessitates immediate and aggressive action. He concluded by highlighting the sophistication of modern criminal networks, stating:
“The global fraud network is a sophisticated one with enough information; they are smarter than us. But we have to be ahead of them because they are faster than us, better networked than us, and they collaborate more than us; and so, we have to be a step ahead of them.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
