Fake business listings: How Ghanaians can check who they are paying

A customer searches for a business online, finds a phone number, discusses a booking and sends a deposit. Later, the business says it never received the money. The person who answered the call was pretending to work there. Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has warned that fraudsters are placing fake business listings on search engines and online maps. In an alert issued in April, it said 54 such cases had been reported between January 1 and April 26, 2026, with losses totalling GH₵266,195. Cybersecurity governance and risk specialist Valerie Arko-Adjei says customers should verify who they are dealing with before sending money. Finding a business online, she explains, does not mean the contact number beside its name belongs to it. The scam works because the first steps feel ordinary. Many people use a search result or a map listing to find a phone number without giving it much thought.

A fraudster can use the name and address of a real business, then substitute a number they control. Once a customer gets in touch, the conversation may sound much like a genuine booking or sale. Knowing the price of a service does not prove that the person answering is legitimate. Prices, photographs and descriptions may already be public. Before agreeing to pay, customers should check whether the number they called appears on the business’s own website or on a social media account they know belongs to it. If the details do not match, they should contact the business through a different, independently verified channel. Arko-Adjei also urges customers to pay attention to sudden changes in payment instructions. Someone might say the usual mobile money number is temporarily unavailable or ask for a deposit to be sent to a personal account. There may be innocent reasons for a change,…