Accra: Nearly half of cybersecurity incidents reported in Ghana between January and July 2026 involved online fraud, the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has disclosed. Mr. Divine Selase Agbeti, Director-General of the CSA, said the national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-GH) recorded 3,876 incidents during the period, of which 1,818 cases, representing about 47 percent, were linked to online fraud.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Agbeti made the disclosure at the launch of the 2026 National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) in Accra, themed 'Securing Ghana's Digital Finance Ecosystem: Building Trust Through Collaboration and Cyber Resilience.' Mr. Agbeti said the figures demonstrated the increasing vulnerability of citizens, businesses, and institutions to cyber-enabled crime as digital financial services become more widely adopted.
Mr. Agbeti highlighted the personal and financial impact behind each statistic, noting that the rapid adoption of mobile money, online banking, digital payments, and e-commerce platforms is creating new opportunities for criminals to exploit unsuspecting users. He stated that global and local data suggested digital adoption was outpacing cybersecurity awareness and protective measures, with many mobile phone users still not employing basic security practices like password protection.
The Bank of Ghana's 2025 Fraud Report was cited by Mr. Agbeti to reinforce concerns, revealing that reported fraud cases across banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions, and payment service providers increased by 48 percent, from 16,733 cases in 2024 to 24,778 cases in 2025. The total value at risk amounted to GHS101 million. Fraud within the payment service provider sector presented the most significant challenge, with electronic fraud incidents rising by 54 percent and the value at risk increasing by 95 percent, from GHS19 million to GHS37 million.
Describing cybercrime as a direct threat to public confidence in the financial system, Mr. Agbeti emphasized that trust is the cornerstone of digital finance. He warned that loss of confidence could occur if customers believe their online transactions or personal data could be compromised without consequence.
Mr. Agbeti urged financial institutions and related sectors to view cybersecurity as a board-level governance obligation and an operational resilience requirement, rather than merely a regulatory or IT issue. He recommended strengthening identity and access management systems, implementing multi-factor authentication, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, securing customer information, and improving incident response capabilities.
He also cautioned that advances in artificial intelligence were making cybercrime more sophisticated, with threats like voice cloning, impersonation, and social engineering attacks. Stronger collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, telecommunications operators, law enforcement agencies, and the public was called for to combat cyber-enabled fraud.
Mr. Agbeti stressed the importance of timely incident reporting, intelligence sharing, and coordinated responses, noting that criminals often exploit delays and weak institutional cooperation. He praised the media's role in educating the public and preventing cyber scams, emphasizing that informed reporting could help citizens identify fraudulent schemes and protect themselves.
Finally, Mr. Agbeti urged Ghanaians to remain vigilant, verify suspicious requests, secure online accounts, and promptly report incidents. "Ghana's digital finance future will be shaped not only by how quickly we innovate, but also by how safely we do so," he concluded.