The Assin Fosu District Court Judge in the Central Region, His Worship Abdul Majid Iliasu, has recounted how suspected MoMo fraudsters attempted to defraud him moments after he had sentenced an accused person for a similar offence.

The judge said the attempted scam occurred shortly after the court had risen, as he prepared to leave the court premises.

According to him, an unknown caller contacted him, claiming to have mistakenly transferred money into his account and asking him to take action on the transaction.

The call was followed by a text message purportedly from a telecommunications service provider, suggesting that the alleged transfer had been made.

But the judge said a closer check exposed the message as fraudulent. He explained that the incident immediately raised suspicion because the method was similar to one of the techniques used by MoMo fraudsters.

“The person called and said he had mistakenly sent money to my account. I checked, and there was a message purporting to be from the telecommunications service. After further checks, I realised they were fraudsters because that was one of their modes of operation,” he recounted.

His Worship Iliasu, who appeared amused by the irony of the situation, said the incident demonstrated that MoMo fraudsters appeared willing to target anyone, regardless of their position.

“These guys show no respect to anybody, no matter your status in society,” he remarked.

The attempted scam came shortly after the judge had imposed a GH¢9,000 fine on a person convicted of a MoMo-related offence.

The court found Prince Mensah guilty of defrauding mobile money vendor Alice Fofie of GH¢37,000 and sentenced him to a fine of 7,500 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢9,000.

The judge said the punishment was intended to serve as a deterrent to others who may engage in similar offences.

His Worship Iliasu also expressed concern about the increasing incidence of electronic transaction-related crimes in the Assin Fosu area.

He called on the Ghana Police Service and relevant cybersecurity authorities to intensify efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators of MoMo fraud and other electronic transaction-related offences.

The judge’s comments came during proceedings in a separate kidnapping case involving four suspects accused of abducting 30-year-old Bismark Amoh.

Bismark Amoh was reportedly held captive in Kumasi from September 6 to 11, with one of the suspects facing allegations in connection with a separate MoMo fraud case.