Certified fraud examiner and professional investigator Ransford Nana Addo Junior has warned that online scammers carefully manipulate consumers' desire for convenience, huge discounts, and quick bargains to lure them into fraudulent schemes.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Friday, July 31, during a discussion on getting ahead of online scams, he said fraudsters do not act randomly but follow carefully planned stages designed to win the confidence of their targets before taking their money.

According to him, understanding how these scams work is the first step towards preventing them.

"One key thing about scams is that if you are able to spot a scam, you can stop it. The only way you can stop a scam is when you're able to spot it," he said.

He explained that scammers operate through a series of stages rather than simply approaching victims without preparation.

"They have characteristics. Scammers go through stages. They don't just wake up and scam you," he noted.

He said one of the biggest tools criminals exploit is consumers' preference for convenience.

"There's something that criminals and customers or consumers like. We call it convenience. Customers and consumers like convenience, and the criminals love it," he said.

He explained that many shoppers prefer to order products from the comfort of their homes instead of visiting physical shops, creating an opportunity for fraudsters to intercept transactions.

"Because you don't want to walk to that shop to go and pick an item. You want to place a call so that the item is brought to you. That is what the criminal is enjoying," he said.

"The convenience that you seek, they will come between you and a retail shop and take money from you. The retail shop doesn't get the money, the customer doesn't get the goods, and the criminal is happy."

According to him, scammers begin by carrying out surveillance to identify businesses and trends they can exploit.

"They do reconnaissance, they do surveillance," he said, explaining that fraudsters study businesses running promotions, identify popular retailers and monitor industries that attract large numbers of customers.

He said that instead of creating entirely new businesses, many criminals now clone well-established brands to appear legitimate.

"What is dangerous about the current category we are experiencing is the cloning. They don't set up a new business. Most of them would not do that. They clone an already existing business that is well known," he said.

According to him, fraudsters copy genuine businesses by creating fake websites and publishing fraudulent contact details while relying on the reputation already built by legitimate companies.

"They will target an existing business... They clone an existing business, give a website and then put fake names, fraudulent names as contacts," he explained.

Ransford Nana Addo Junior said another common tactic is the use of unusually large discounts to attract victims.

"One key thing apart from convenience is when you lower your price. Discount is another thing they prey on," he said.

Using the example of a television set, he explained how scammers use unrealistic offers to tempt buyers.

"A brand new 75-inch television that ideally should be selling for about GH¢16,000, they say they are selling it for GH¢8,000. Who doesn't like that?" he asked.

He described this as the "attraction stage", where fraudsters combine deep discounts with promises such as free delivery to encourage victims to make contact.

"They throw in the bait and people begin to call the hotline," he said.

According to him, scam syndicates even train customer service agents to sound professional and convincing.

"They would have trained people who would sit down and pick the calls professionally. The language is on point. They confirm every script they have put online," he said.

These agents reassure potential buyers that the promotions are genuine and often ask for deposits before delivery, particularly for customers outside major cities.

"They will tell you, 'Yes, we are doing free delivery. If you are outside Accra, you need to pay a 10 per cent deposit before we move to show your seriousness,'" he explained.

He said once communication begins, scammers move to what he described as the engagement stage, where they negotiate with victims and encourage them to spend even more money.

"The scammer would not say no. Even if you want further discounts because you are buying 10, they will tell you, 'Yes, we'll give you another 20 per cent discount,'" he said.

He warned that this is where greed becomes one of the strongest weapons used by fraudsters.

"This is where greed becomes the next commanding dynamic that the scammers exploit. Convenience, discount and our greed," he said.

He said that people are often tempted to buy products they neither need nor planned to purchase simply because they believe they are getting an exceptional bargain.

"They know the human tendency to be greedy is there. They're throwing the greed aspect," he said.

The fraud investigator also cautioned consumers against promotions that create unnecessary urgency.

He said scammers often impose short deadlines to pressure victims into making quick decisions without verifying the seller.

"They will tell you that the promo is going to expire and you have the next 24 hours. When you hear these things, get to know that you're heading towards danger," he said.

He advised consumers to be suspicious of businesses that refuse in-person visits and insist only on home delivery.

"They create the convenience for you. 'Don't come, we'll deliver it.' Because immediately you say, 'I want to come to your showroom,' there's no showroom," he said.