Fraudsters Are Duping Prospective Car Buyers in Our Name – GPHA

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) says some unscrupulous persons were using its name to defraud prospective car buyers.

Mrs Esther Gyebi-Donkor, General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Affairs of GPHA, stated that such persons create fake websites in the name of the company which they use to swindle people.

She said “these people will snapshot our website and manage to add that kind of information creating a fake website in GPHA’s name”.

Mrs Gyebi-Donkor further explained that they then linked on-line marketing portals to the fake website and indicate that “if you need a car you should go to that website”.

She therefore cautioned the public against dealing with such persons, stressing that “if anybody tells you that GPHA is selling cars, don’t waste your time to make any further enquiries. It should just tell you that somebody is trying to dupe you”.

According to her, GPHA does not engage in auctioning and selling of cars since it was only the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) which was mandated to auction vehicles at the port.

Narrating one of such defrauding activities, she noted that a medical doctor who works with a reputable hospital in Accra was duped GHC 21,000 by the fraudsters after promising to get him a car from the Tema Port.

She indicated that according to the victim, he saw a car he was interested in being advertised on Tonanton and contacted the agent who then sent him pictures of cars available for sale.

Mrs Gyebi-Donkor added that the victim then received a call from a man purporting to be the Director-General of GPHA confirming he had received his application to buy the said car and was expected to pay GHC 3,000 in addition to some monies paid already to complete the transaction.

The victim, who also received a text message supposedly coming from Customs confirming his transaction with them, was called by one Elvis Boakye assuring him of receiving the car on May 10, 2018.

In all, he paid an amount of GHC 21,000 to the swindlers.

Source: GNA