"Do Due Diligence To Avoid Any Fraudulent Online Business Transactions" - EOCO To Public

The Economic and Organised Crime Office is cautioning the general public to do due diligence to avoid being victims to any fraudulent online business transactions.

According to EOCO, it is cautioning the public following the surge in fraudulent online business transactions.

In a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Faustina Lartey, she said "This recurrent crime, comes at the back of fraudsters cashing in on the convenience of transacting business online and depriving members of the public of their hard earned monies"

Madam Lartey also explained that these criminals have targeted the online purchase/delivery services and are defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.

Further explaining their mode of operations, she revealed that the criminals open fake online accounts where they advertise very attractive items at competitive prices while offering door to door delivery services.

"In reality, no such shops exist therefore the operators do not encourage shop visits or picking up of items in person. Full payment before delivery is their preferred business module"

"They stop interacting with their victims the very moment full payment is made or some substantial amount of money has been paid by the victims"

"They finally block off the victims' contact numbers or their social media pages to avoid interacting with them.

The general public is hereby advised to do due diligence before parting away with money all in the name of online shopping/ delivery"

The Economic and Organised Crime Office says in line with its mandate to prevent and detect organised crime, it will continue to monitor developments with online business transactions with the view to ensure that citizens are protected from these fraudsters.

Below is a copy of the release:

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith