Fraud cases in Ghana's financial sector rose sharply in 2025, but the problem is concentrated in one area: mobile money, according to the Bank of Ghana's Fraud Investigations and Reporting Unit.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Eric Cab-Beyuo, Head of the Fraud Investigations and Reporting Unit at the Bank of Ghana, said commercial banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) have made clear progress in reducing fraud, but Payment Service Providers (PSPs) remain the sector's weak point.

"As we see in the reports, we have seen some progress on the bank side — that's the commercial banks. We've seen some reduction or some decline in the number of fraud cases, as well as the value of fraud," he said.

"We also see some decline in the counter fraud at the SDI sector, the specialised deposit-taking institutions sector."

"The only challenge we have is the payment service providers," he added. "That is where we see an increase in count and then value."

Cab-Beyuo said the improvement in the banking sector reflects both internal reforms by the banks and the effectiveness of the central bank's oversight.

"From the analysis, I must say the banks are doing a lot. They are putting a lot of controls, and we are happy with what we are seeing," he said. "They also show us that our supervisory and regulatory measures are also working. But we need to do more so we can bring down the numbers."

He noted that a single large incident had skewed the overall value-at-risk figure for banks.

"When you look at the value at risk for the banks, it was just one outlier that pushed the value to that amount," he said. "Without that, we would have seen a drastic reduction in the value. We need to work together with the banks to enhance our internal controls and make sure we reduce these figures drastically."

Asked to clarify what falls under "payment service providers," Cab-Beyuo named the country's major mobile money operators.

"The payment service providers are what we refer to as the electronic money — so we are looking at MTN Mobile Money, AirtelTigo, and Telecash," he said. "We are looking at fraud within that sector."

He described the sector as especially vulnerable, not because of technical weaknesses, but because of how fraudsters exploit human behaviour.

"I must say this sector is very tricky," he said. "The fraudsters don't usually use many hacking techniques. They just play on our minds."

"They use manipulative methods, social engineering, fake calls, and a whole lot to get people to give out very vital information," he said. "And with this information, they can hack or get into our mobile wallet and then transfer money from it."

He urged mobile money users to stay alert to common warning signs.

"We receive a whole lot of fake calls now and then. We need to know which one is real and which one is fake," he said.

"We sometimes receive SMS alerts saying that you have won some amount of money — you haven't participated in any raffle or any program, so how come you have won an amount? We need to be vigilant as users of these products."

Pressed on what "fraud" means in practical terms for listeners, Cab-Beyuo confirmed it refers directly to financial loss.

"So when you say fraud, we are referring to the loss of money, right?" the host asked.

"Exactly," Cab-Beyuo replied.