By Gottlieb Baako
A sophisticated online fraud network targeting food lovers and hospitality businesses across Ghana’s major cities has triggered urgent warnings from cybersecurity officials and consumer advocates.
Criminals are systematically intercepting digital food delivery orders, causing total financial losses to surge past GH¢296,000 in just the first six months of the year.
The scam relies on a breakdown in online profile management across public search engines and mapping tools.
Fraudsters exploit open editing features on platforms like Google Search and Google Maps, using “Suggest an Edit” options, claiming unverified profile listings, or purchasing sponsored ad placements to swap out legitimate restaurant contact numbers with their own Mobile Money lines.
When unsuspecting customers call to order meals, the scammers pose as order dispatch staff, collect advance payments via mobile money transfers, and immediately sever communication—leaving the customer empty-handed and the genuine venue unaware.
Data released by the Cyber Security Authority highlights a dramatic escalation in these digital impersonation schemes.
Total reported financial losses spiked by more than two hundred and fifty percent, rising from GH¢84,592 recorded in the first half of last year to GH¢296,083 during the same period this year.
Overall reported cases also climbed steeply from 61 to 112 instances, pointing to an increasingly organized effort by cybercriminals to monetize search engine vulnerability.
The real-world impact of the scheme has left both consumers and local business owners grappling with financial damage and reputational fallout.
“We began receiving angry walk-in customers demanding food they had already paid for online, only for us to realize someone had swapped our official dispatch line on Google Search with an unknown mobile money account,” said Kwame Mensah, a restaurant manager in Osu.
“It harms our revenue, but more importantly, it destroys the trust we have spent years building with our regular diners.”
In response to the growing threat, regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies are ramping up public sensitizations while urging businesses to take direct control of their digital footprints.
“Fraudsters are taking advantage of basic digital hygiene gaps, particularly unverified online business listings where public edit suggestions can go unnoticed by business managers,” stated a representative from the Cyber Security Authority during a recent public advisory.
“We strongly urge all restaurant operators to officially claim and lock their Google Business Profiles, while encouraging consumers to cross-reference contact numbers on verified social media handles before initiating any advance mobile money payments.”
To combat further losses, cybersecurity officials recommend that diners avoid sending money to personal mobile money accounts when dealing with commercial vendors, insisting instead on official merchant till numbers or cash-on-delivery options.
Meanwhile, victims of online impersonation schemes or suspect business listings are encouraged to report incidents immediately to the Cyber Security Authority’s 24-hour incident reporting point via call or text on 292, or through WhatsApp on 0501603111.
