TrustGH has flagged more than 6,000 telephone numbers suspected of being used in fraudulent activities, highlighting the growing threat of scams targeting the public.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 31, the platform said the numbers were flagged through reports from the public and open-source intelligence investigations conducted by its team of certified cybersecurity professionals.
According to TrustGH’s analysis, about 50 per cent of the reported scam numbers are linked to TikTok, making it the largest single source of reported scam activity in its database.
SMS and WhatsApp also account for a significant number of reported cases.
Other scams have been linked to Facebook, Google Business Profiles, telephone calls and fake websites.
TrustGH said most of the scams involve social engineering, where fraudsters pretend to be bank officials, government representatives, company executives, police officers, recruitment officers or legitimate business owners to gain victims’ trust.
More than 90 per cent of the reported cases involved attempts to collect Mobile Money payments or gain unauthorised access to victims’ Mobile Money accounts.
“TrustGH considers the high proportion of Mobile Money-related incidents a significant cybersecurity concern given the widespread use of mobile financial services in Ghana,” the statement said.
The platform said scammers also use fake online shops, recruitment schemes, lottery promotions, fraudulent business profiles and phishing attempts to deceive unsuspecting victims.
TrustGH warned that fraudsters are increasingly moving conversations across different platforms.
They often use TikTok to attract potential victims before switching to WhatsApp, SMS or phone calls to complete the scam.
The platform said it is working with the Cybersecurity Authority and the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service to support investigations into the reported cases.
“Members of the public can verify and report suspicious numbers through TrustGH.com,” the statement added.
