The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has recorded ten (10) cases of fraudulent online investment schemes to a total cost of GHS65,860.00 between January 1 and February 29, 2025.
According to CSA, they identified this surge in fraudulent online investment schemes have been operating under various aliases or pseudonyms.
These scammers, the CSA stated, lure victims with promises of high returns on investments and primarily use social media for advertisements and communication and mobile money for transactions.
In their modus of oparandi and in a bid to appear more credible, threat actors falsely present their schemes as subsidiaries of established foreign companies e.g. Hut 8 Corporation, a publicly traded digital asset mining and high-performance computing company headquartered in Canada.
Additionally, these scammers ran targeted advertisements on social media platforms where they encourage victims to invest money. In some cases, victims are told their investments will fund crypto-mining equipment leases or online business tasks.
“Victims are promised substantial returns but once funds are transferred, they neither
see any returns nor recover their initial investment. The threat actors frequently rebrand under new names to evade detection by law enforcement, local regulators and users. The latest names being employed include “M.F.A.”, Sunnovagh, Iseetv, Okmarket and “Phoenix”,” CSA stated in their press statement.
Given their recommendations, CSA advised the general public to be cautious of online platforms promising unusually high returns on investments and refrain from joining WhatsApp groups or responding to unsolicited messages claiming affiliation with reputable organisations.
“Always verify the legitimacy and credibility of investment opportunities by consulting
official channels or recognised regulatory bodies. Report any suspicious contacts or fraudulent schemes to the CSA for further investigations ” they further recommended.
Source: swiftnews3.com