This guide is for Ghana. If you live elsewhere, the same steps apply, but the numbers will be your country's police cybercrime unit and your own bank or network.
The Cyber Security Authority (CSA)
The CSA runs Ghana's national line for reporting cybercrime and online fraud. You can use it for scams, hacked accounts, online blackmail, fake investment schemes, harassment and anything else that happened through a phone or the internet.
- Call or text: 292
- WhatsApp: 050 160 3111
- Email: report@csa.gov.gh
- Online form: csa.gov.gh/report
The CSA also suggests calling 292 before you send money to anyone you are unsure about.
Where to go for what
| What happened | Report to, first |
|---|---|
| Money sent to a scammer by MoMo | Your network, straight away (100 from your line), then the CSA |
| Money taken from a bank account or card | Your bank's fraud line, straight away, then the CSA |
| WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram taken over | The platform's recovery steps, then the CSA if you are being impersonated to defraud others |
| Blackmail with photos or videos | The CSA and the police. Do not pay |
| A fake online seller | The CSA, and report the page or account on the platform |
| Phone stolen | The police, for an extract. See lost or stolen phone |
For mobile money specifically, see mobile money scams, which lists the networks' fraud lines.
Have this ready
The more precise the report, the more can be done:
- The phone number, account name or page of the person involved.
- Transaction IDs, amounts, dates and times for every payment.
- Screenshots of the conversation, the profile and the payment messages. Take them before the other person deletes anything or blocks you.
- Links to the page, post or website.
- Your own name and contact number.
Do not delete the chat, even if it upsets you. It is the evidence.
Online blackmail
If someone threatens to share private photos or videos unless you pay:
- Do not pay. Paying almost always leads to more demands.
- Stop replying, but do not delete the conversation. Screenshot it.
- Report to the CSA and the police, and report the account on the platform. Platforms remove such content when it is reported.
- Tell someone you trust. This happens to many people, it is a crime by the other person, and you are not in trouble for reporting it.
A police report
For large losses, or if you need a document for your bank or insurer, report at a police station as well. Ask for a written extract and note the case reference.