Forty selected officers of the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the Ashanti Region have undergone training to efficiently handle mobile money fraud cases.

This was jointly organised by the e-crime bureau and mobile telecommunication network (MTN), a leading telecommunication company in Ghana.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ken Yeboah, the Regional Commander, said given the fast growth of the mobile money business it was only prudent to build the capacity of personnel of the service to deal with any fraudsters.

He suggested that a module was designed for integration into the curriculum of the police training school.

He appealed that the training was extended to police personnel across the country, to adequately equip them to neutralize, those out there to cheat.

DCOP Yeboah said there could be no doubt that there were fraudsters already in the system and ready to exploit loopholes to their advantage.

He encouraged the officers to take the training seriously to help make things uncomfortable for criminals.

The expectation was that they would share the knowledge acquired with their colleagues, he added.

MTN Regional Senior Manager - Sales, Peter K. Bimpeh, said since the introduction of the mobile money service in 2009 the benefits to customers has been enormous.

He said in the bid to promote a cashless agenda and safe means of financial transaction, they were not oblivious that unsuspecting clients could be swindled by unscrupulous people.

He said they had noticed a disturbing trend in mobile money fraud – now seeing about 48 cases every month.

  He described the development as troubling and added that, it needed to be brought under control.

 Mr. Albert Antwi Boasiako, Principal Consultant, e-Crime Bureau said, engaging the law enforcement officers was important since the process was technology-driven and new.

He said although experts in crime investigation, there was the need to aid them to understand matters in this area to better handle cases.