The proliferation of cybercrime in Ghana really began in the early 21st century when the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector became liberalized via a 5-year accelerated development program, helping to expand and improve telecommunications infrastructure.
[5] This growth in internet usage, along with technological devices made available via e-waste, led to a significant increase in cybercrime due to relative ease of access to the cyberweb.
This form of fraud involves the perpetrator assuming a fake online activity and will contact victims via social networking and dating websites.
[3] Typically, older men and women are targeted and are manipulated into sending gifts and money either for romantic purposes or because of a promise of reciprical gain.
[3] Typically, the scammers will show real gold bars as well as offer tours of mining facilities in order to gain the trust of the investors, however, upon the receipt of downpayments from the victims, will close their business.
Like elsewhere in the world, the hackers operate for-profit, mostly via the creation of fake websites aimed at tricking victims into inputting credit card information.
Alternatively, Ghana has also seen the creation of pro-justice hacking groups or "ethical hackers", who have mostly targeted government websites with the goal of exposing corruption.
As cybercrime has increased in Ghana, it has seen the development of "sakawa", or the combination of internet based crime and West African traditionalist religion.
[5] The popularity of this mixture between theology and cybercrime has led to the creation of the "sakawa boys" subset, which often flaunt jewelry and clothing as part of their aesthetic.
Typically, sakawa boys tend to be male, under the age of 30, live near urban centres in slums, and are unemployed or underemployed, making the lifestyle available to them via cybercriminality appealing.
E-waste has, to some extent, allowed for the proliferation of cybercrime within Ghana, due to sensitive information not being properly wiped from hard-drives.
[10] For instance, in 2008, UK environmental agencies found computers belonging to the National Health Services and local councils, in the Agbogbloshie dumpsite in Accra.
[citation needed] Despite this, some limitations with current legislation do exist, such as a lack of adaptibility to new forms of cybercrime and difficulty in collecting evidence to persecute under the new Acts.