The Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission (PCSRC), a regulatory agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has assured of its decision to root out e-commerce fraud and scams.

The PCSRC in a press release signed by the Executive Secretary, Hamdaratu Zakaria noted that the move comes after reports of heightened concern about the fraudulent actions of some e-commerce, logistics, courier, and digital trading enterprises in Ghana and the sub-region by the Fourth Estate newspaper.

In response, PCSRC said it is working with other Ministry of Communications & Digitalisation (MOCD) agencies to regulate e-commerce, e-logistics and digital trading activities in the country.

The Commission said the “Ministry and its agencies have been aware of these problems for some time now and are taking important steps to address them, such as the SIM registration process that is still ongoing.”

According to PRSRC, the report clearly shows that much more needs to be done.

In doing so, PCSRC informed "the public of its upcoming program to register all e-commerce operators and provide them with a secure online profile at no cost."

The release dated April 26, 2022 noted that “all of these efforts are in line with Government of Ghana’s Digitalisation Agenda.”

“A free-to-use electronic portal has already been developed to enable all members of the public to obtain directory information on all registered e-commerce traders and logistics companies (including courier services) in good standing with the PCSRC before doing business with them. This system will be integrated with telecom and corporate registries to close existing loopholes.

“Furthermore, a complaints and business rating system will be centralised so that fraudulent persons and sham businesses no longer hide behind the current anonymity provided by digital technology to dupe unsuspecting members of the public. They will be blacklisted. This is absolutely necessary to sanitise this rapidly growing sector and provide security for the conduct of genuine online business,” portions of the release said.

Touching on how fraudulent operatives take advantage of the internet, the Commission said: "The ongoing trade liberalisation regime under the AfCFTA and ECOWAS, have complicated domestic regulations since businesses can now trade across national borders using the internet."

According to them, Fraudulent operatives take advantage of the internet to evade local law enforcement authorities by sometimes operating from neighbouring countries.

As a result, PCSRC have "joined the AfCFTA Hub and Caravan initiatives and has successfully integrated its aforementioned regulatory platform with the continental system.

"We shall, going forward, work together with other agencies in Ghana and across the region to tighten the noose around digital fraudsters regardless of where they operate from," the Commission assured.