GHANA A SUSPICIOUS CYBER ZONE (Back page) 29-05-09

Story: Kofi Yeboah
GHANA has been tagged a suspicious cyber zone in international business transactions as a result of the negative impact of cyber fraud in the country.
As a result, international business transactions involving Ghana are attracting close scrutiny because of the increasing incidents of cyber fraud, popularly called ‘sakawa’.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Felix Mawusi of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service made this known in Accra yesterday at a news conference organised by the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA) to address some concerns in the industry.
Statistics indicate that cyber fraud in Ghana is becoming alarming, with the rate increasing from 1.2 per cent in 2005 to 2.4 per cent in 2008, compared to Nigeria, a country that gained notoriety with the phenomenon, where the rate of the crime has decreased from about eight per cent to about five per cent within the period.
DSP Mawusi, who is the second in command at the Commercial Crime Unit of the CID, said cyber crime was a challenge to the nation’s future in view of the involvement of the youth, who are the future leaders.
He said cyber criminals were now moving their operations away from Internet cafes to their personal Internet connectivity, thereby reducing the risk of arrest.
He said the police were trying to device new strategies to deal with the new modus operandi of cyber criminals.
While admitting that the police had a lot of challenges with respect to logistics in dealing with the menace, he said they were doing their best to combat the crime.
The President of GISPA, Mr Richard Hlomadhor, said the association had put in place a 90-day intervention plan to clean up the system of cyber crime.
He said it involved collaboration with the police to track people who used the Internet to engage in criminal activities by monitoring the transactions of suspects.
In line with the anti-cyber crime initiative, the GISPA intended to launch a special programme that would enable Internet cafe attendants to regulate the sites that Internet users could visit, he said.
A former President of GISPA, Mr Ato Sarpong, said the increasing rate of cyber crime posed a major threat to national security and the e-governance initiatives of the government.
He said if the situation was not addressed, the nation would gradually be witnessing what he described as cyber terrorism and a very corrupt society.
He called on the government, Internet service providers, the media and all individuals to wage a united crusade against the phenomenon.
He said the Ministry of Communications, Internet service providers and the police were preparing for a major stakeholders’ forum to address the issue but stressed the need for a proper legal framework to fight the crime.
Mr Sarpong said Internet service providers made a huge contribution to the nation’s economy in respect of the payment of income tax, corporate tax and customs duties, as well as job creation.