On a regular Monday afternoon, Kwaku Rasta, a graduate of the University of Ghana with a first degree in Psychology, receives a supposed SMS alert from his bank, prompting him to c
The report indicates that on a regular Monday afternoon, Kwaku Rasta, a graduate of the University of Ghana with a first degree in Psychology, receives a supposed SMS alert from his bank, prompting him to click a link to answer certain questions that will enable the bank to safeguard his accounts. Kwaku assumes it is a normal routine.
It further notes that in the process, he is made to provide the name on his bank account, his bank account number, email address attached to the account and a box is provided for him to input a One-Time Password (OTP) sent to him. He completes the process, thinking his money is safe, and in less than 10 minutes, he receives an alert that a substantial amount of money has been debited from his account.
Was Kwaku Rasta ignorant? Did he engage with an entity or brand he is not familiar with? Did he act out of greed? He did what all smart people would do: take advantage of an opportunity to secure their funds! This has been the fate of many diligent and educated individuals, corporate institutions, and even religious bodies.
A September 2025 report by IMANI Africa on Cybercrime in Ghana indicated that the country lost GH¢14.94 million in the first half of 2025, up 17% from the same period last year.
Reported incidents increased from 1,317 in early 2024 to 2,008 in 2025, with online fraud, cyberbullying, and blackmail accounting for the majority of cases. The alarming figures speak to how online scams are fast taking root in Ghana’s financial ecosystem.
But why do smart people easily fall for online scams?
Modern scams rarely target intellect and logic; they are tactically and socially engineered to target emotions, making it easy for the most educated and the most exposed to fall prey.
A report on mobile money fraud cases in the first quarter of 2025 named doctors, cybersecurity professionals and lawyers among the many victims of online scams.
This is to prove that in most cases of online fraud, it is not software vulnerabilities, system failures, or lack of knowledge, but a comprehensive exploitation of human nature.
Fear, urgency, excitement, and greed are powerful shortcuts that the brain reacts to automatically.
A message like “Your account will be locked in 10 minutes” or “6 attempts have been made to log in to your GCB Mobile App; click here to verify it’s you” bypasses careful reasoning. Even highly analytical people can react before they verify.
This makes understanding the manipulative techniques employed by scammers the key step in shielding yourself against cyber fraud.
One reason smart people fall for scams is that scammers have become remarkably good at looking legitimate.
They no longer rely on poorly written emails filled with spelling mistakes. Today’s cybercriminals often imitate trusted organisations so convincingly that many people struggle to tell the difference.
