The Ghana Police Service has cautioned the public to be vigilant against fraudsters on social media. The service said some fraudsters have taken advantage of social media to defraud unsuspecting victims of huge sums of money on the various platform.
According to the police, the fraudsters target entrepreneurs, contractors, and individuals seeking employment and contracts in government agencies.
“They impersonate government officials and influential people and open Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Wechat and Instagram accounts, to lure unsuspecting potential contractors and entrepreneurs with contract promises,” a statement from the police said.
“They use some faceless individuals as their personal assistants, who are made to place phone calls to their victims demanding various sums of money through mobile money to facilitate their engagement with the so-called ministers or big men. After payment is made, their phone lines and social media accounts are deactivated,” the statement added.
The police say persons who use social media for business transactions must double-check the backgrounds of persons they deal with to be sure they are genuine and credible before completing their transactions.
“The Police Administration strongly advises the general public not to advance or pay any money, especially through the mobile money, to persons or organisations unknown to them,” it added.
It also warned unemployed persons and those seeking government appointments and contracts to contact the appropriate government institution, agency and department to avoid being defrauded by the unscrupulous persons.
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
