Ghana’s cybercrime losses hit GH¢209.7m in nine months of 2026

Ghana recorded GH¢209.7 million in financial losses from reported cybersecurity incidents between January and September 2026, nearly ten times the GH¢22.5 million recorded throughout 2025.

The figures, released by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) during its National Cyber Security Awareness Month activities, highlight the rising financial impact of cybercrime on individuals and businesses.

The authority also reported an increase in cybersecurity incidents, with 4,938 cases recorded in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 4,604 for the whole of 2025.

Mary Ama Bawa, an officer of the CSA’s Capacity Building and Awareness Creation Department, disclosed the figures at the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC) in Cape Coast last Monday during the authority’s regional engagements.

She warned that the growing number of reported incidents called for stronger public education and more proactive measures to protect internet users.

Online fraud remains leading threat

According to the statistics presented by Mrs Bawa, online fraud accounted for 48 per cent of reported cybersecurity incidents between January and September 2026, up from 47 per cent in 2025.

Cyberbullying recorded a sharper increase, rising from nine per cent of reported cases in 2025 to 19 per cent during the first nine months of 2026.

Online blackmail also increased, accounting for 20 per cent of reported incidents in 2026, compared with 17 per cent in the previous year.

Mrs Bawa cautioned that the figures might not represent the full extent of cybercrime in the country, as some victims failed to report incidents to the relevant authorities.

Deepfakes, child exploitation raise concern

Mrs Bawa identified artificial intelligence-generated deepfake scams, brand impersonation, organised scam centres, automated fraud schemes and child-related online safety violations among the emerging cybersecurity threats confronting Ghana.

The CSA classified AI-generated deepfake scams and brand impersonation as high-impact threats, while organised scam centres were rated as medium-impact and automated fraud schemes as increasing in impact.

Child-related online safety violations were classified as critical because of the growing risks faced by children on digital platforms.

She highlighted cyberbullying, online grooming and sexual extortion as some of the dangers confronting young internet users.

According to her, children could be misled into believing they were communicating with their peers when they were actually interacting with adults seeking to exploit them.

CSA targets harmful online content

The CSA is working with major social media platforms, including Meta, TikTok and Instagram, to identify and remove harmful online content, particularly material involving the sexual exploitation of children.

Mrs Bawa said the authority monitored the platforms for intelligence on such material and also responded to reports from affected individuals.

"Under the arrangement, the CSA could request the platforms to remove nude images and other exploitative content once the material was identified or reported", she said.

She added that the authority could pursue individuals who posted or shared such content, as both actions could constitute offences under the law.

The CSA is also collaborating with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to strengthen cybersecurity capacity among critical information infrastructure institutions, including regional coordinating councils, assemblies and banks.

Parents urged to protect children online

Herald Nelson-Darko, Senior Manager at the CSA’s Child Online Protection Unit, described online child sexual exploitation and abuse as one of the fastest-growing forms of violence against children.

He cited data attributed to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which indicated that 21,901 sexual images involving children and young people had been accessed and uploaded in Ghana.

Mr Nelson-Darko urged parents to speak regularly with their children about internet use and teach them how to recognise and report suspicious online interactions.

He said parents did not need advanced technological knowledge to protect their children, stressing that regular communication and an active interest in their online experiences could help keep them safe.