'We'll handover all culprits to be punished' – Pres. Mahama warns against romance scams

President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to clamping down on cybercrime, warning perpetrators of romance scams, insider fraud, and online hate speech that they will face severe consequences.

According to him, Ghana has been intensifying its cooperation with international partners to curb the rising trend of online scams.

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He declared,

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Recently, we’ve been collaborating with our international partner regarding romance scams. When evidence is gathered and it’s proven that people are involved in romance scams, using our extradition treaties, we ship the culprits back. We’ll continue to collaborate with all our global partners. Anybody involved in romance scams, whether you are a foreigner or a Ghanaian citizen, we will hand you over to be tried and punished accordingly

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The President further disclosed that some of these fraudulent activities are linked to insiders within Ghana’s financial institutions.

He stated,

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Some people are employed within financial institutions and they manage, because they are in there, to be able to take advantage of the system. And so, the Bank of Ghana and the cyber security agencies have arrested a few such people. Punishment is normally very swift, and they are sanctioned for what they do

President Mahama also raised concerns over the growing spread of hate speech online. He cautioned that deliberate attempts to inflame tensions between ethnic groups through digital platforms could destabilise national unity. He added.

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There are also other forms like hate speech to create division amongst people. People intentionally post messages that will pit one ethnic group against the other. That is also becoming very commonplace, and it’s something that our cyber security authority and allied agencies must look at

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The President made these remarks while speaking at the official launch of the 2025 National Cyber Security Awareness Month, held under the theme “Building a Safe Digital Space.” He stressed the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms to secure Ghana’s digital landscape and protect citizens from both domestic and international threats.

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