EOCO raises alarm over rising romance scams in Ghana

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has expressed deep concern over the rising cases of romance scams in Ghana, revealing that it has been investigating at least 107 related cases since 2021.

Speaking at the launch of a fraud reporting campaign in partnership with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA UK), EOCO emphasized the importance of a whistleblowing strategy in addressing the growing threat of romance fraud.

Romance scams remain one of the most pervasive forms of fraud in Ghana, particularly with the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive victims.

At the campaign launch on Wednesday, March 5, EOCO disclosed that approximately 2 million Ghana cedis had been recovered in 2024 alone.

“We were dealing with about 107 active cases. We had referrals from international organizations and other sister agencies, including the FBI. Locally, we are working with the Financial Intelligence Center, the NTA, and others through what we call the mutual legal assistance regime,” EOCO stated.

The campaign, launched in collaboration with NCA UK, aims to leverage whistleblower mechanisms to effectively combat romance fraud.

Speaking on behalf of EOCO’s Executive Director, Director of Administration Edward Cudjoe reiterated the office’s commitment to proactively tackling financial fraud.

“There is the need for a more collaborative approach to tackling these issues, particularly in intelligence sharing,” he noted.

The NCA UK also underscored the importance of international cooperation in the fight against romance scams, stressing that cross-border collaboration among law enforcement agencies is crucial in tracking down perpetrators.

“We encourage everyone to join this effort and report suspicious activities to the office. Both EOCO and NCA are committed to working together to minimize this menace by joining forces to protect the public from the devastating effects of romance fraud,” the NCA UK stated.

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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