Curbing MoMo fraud in a digital 24-Hour Economy
Ghana’s digital economy operates continuously, with mobile money facilitating trade and promoting financial inclusion.
However, MoMo fraud presents a significant threat by eroding public trust in digital financial systems.
Mobile money fraud has escalated from an occasional inconvenience to a sophisticated criminal enterprise.
Perpetrators employ social engineering, identity theft, SIM swap attacks, fraudulent customer care calls, phishing messages, and insider collusion.
Victims include market vendors, students, professionals and small business owners.
The Bank of Ghana, SDIs and Payment Service Providers Fraud Reports suggest that in 2022 alone, financial losses due to MoMo fraud in Ghana reached an estimated GHS 26 million, reflecting a sharp increase in both the frequency and scale of these attacks.
While financial losses are substantial, the greater impact is the diminished confidence in digital payment systems.
Trust is the foundation of a round-the-clock digital economy.
If people feel unsafe using MoMo, progress halts, and the system falters.
Why MoMo Fraud Persists
One major reason MoMo fraud thrives is information asymmetry.
Many users are digitally active but not digitally informed.
Fraudsters rely less on technical hacking and more on psychological manipulation.
They create a sense of urgency, impersonate authority and exploit human trust.
Another factor is weak identity hygiene. SIM cards and mobile money wallets are often shared, poorly secured or registered with incomplete information.
This creates loopholes that criminals exploit.
There is also the challenge of enforcement. While telecom companies and banks have improved security measures, fraud investigations are often slow, fragmented or inconclusive.
Victims rarely recover lost funds, which discourages reporting and emboldens criminals.
Cost to the 24-Hour Economy
A digital 24-hour economy requires constant financial flow.
Traders must transact at night, online businesses must operate across time zones, and workers must be paid seamlessly.
When MoMo fraud increases, people revert to cash, which delays transactions or limits their digital exposure.
This undermines productivity, increases operational risks, and widens the gap between policy vision and lived reality.
In effect, MoMo fraud becomes an invisible tax on economic growth.
What must be done
Curbing MoMo fraud requires a coordinated, multi-layer response.
First, digital literacy must be treated as economic infrastructure.
Public education campaigns should move beyond generic warnings and focus on real fraud scenarios spoken in local languages and delivered through radio, social media, churches, markets and transport hubs.
Second, stronger identity verification is essential. Continuous SIM re-registration, biometric validation, and tighter Know Your Customer processes must be enforced without exception.
Convenience should never override security.
Third, telecom operators and financial institutions must improve real-time fraud detection and response.
Suspicious transactions should trigger immediate temporary holds, not post-loss investigations.
Speed matters in a 24-hour economy.
Fourth, law enforcement capacity must be strengthened.
Cybercrime units need technical tools, legal clarity, and inter-agency collaboration to trace fraud networks and prosecute offenders effectively. Publicised convictions will serve as a deterrence.
Finally, users themselves must take responsibility.
No legitimate institution will ask for your MoMo PIN, one-time password, or verification code.
Security begins with individual discipline.
Conclusion
Mobile money is one of Ghana’s greatest digital success stories.
It has transformed commerce and expanded financial access.
However, its future depends on how well we secure it.
A 24-hour digital economy cannot thrive on fear and losses.
It must be built on trust, education, accountability, and strong systems.
Curbing MoMo fraud is not just a technical task.
It is an economic necessity and a shared national responsibility.
The writer is a Cybersecurity professional with training in information security and digital risk.
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