Two persons have been arrested for allegedly impersonating the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), Dr Stephen K. Opuni, and defrauding some people.
The two: Latif Apolala alias Davido, 30 and Christian Obeng alias Borga, 29, are said to have deceived unsuspecting people by using one of the social media platforms, Facebook account.
They were said to have created a Facebook account using the pictures and details of Dr Opuni which they used to promise people jobs at the Cocobod and ended up collecting various sums of money from them.
Degree holders who wanted to secure jobs with the Cocobod were asked to pay GH¢4,000, while HND holders were required to pay GH¢3,000.
Victim reports to police
Briefing journalists Wednesday, the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper K. Agblor, said the Cybercrime Unit of the CID received information on February 26, 2016 that someone was impersonating the Cocobod CEO.
He said the complainant, who had had a chat with the fake account holder, told the police that he had been told to meet a messenger of Dr Opuni at a spot at Achimota Mile 7 where he was to deliver his CV and GH¢3, 500 to facilitate the process of securing a job at Cocobod.
Later when the cybercrime experts contacted Dr Opuni, he was said to have confirmed that he did not have a Facebook account.
Arrest
Subsequently, the complainant, with the help of the CID investigators, managed to lure Apolala to meet him and collect the money and Apolala was arrested when he did.
Upon the arrest of Apolala, Mr Agblor said he told the police he had been sent by a man he said was Opuni to collect the money and he facilitated the arrest of Obeng.
During interrogation, Mr Agblor said Obeng admitted creating the Facebook account in the name of Stephen K. Opuni and the email account stepheneopuni43@gmail.com to facilitate his plans.
The two have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and attempting to commit crime to wit defrauding by false pretences.
Related case
In a related development, the Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, also said it had come to his notice that someone had created a Facebook account in his name and was using it to defraud people who knew him.
He said the account holder was soliciting for funds from people claiming that he (Mr Yohuno) was stranded outside Ghana and needed financial support.
Mr Yohuno said though he did not have a Facebook account, the person was always updating the fake account with his pictures and comments purporting to have been made by him.
He,therefore, appealed to the public to disclaim the said account and give any information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators to the police.
Credit: Graphic Online
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