The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) has launched the National SIM Card Registration Exercise across Ghana.

Starting today, to be able to register a SIM Card in Ghana, every mobile subscriber is required to provide the name and residential or occupational address, date of birth; and Certificate of Incorporation, in the case of a body corporate; or registration, in the case of a partnership or an unincorporated body of persons; and an identification document.

Only the National Identity Card (Ghana Card) issued to an individual can be used for the registration of SIM cards of Citizens. Also, foreign Residents and foreigners staying in Ghana for more than 90 days are to use the Ghana Card for their sim registration.

For those foreigners visiting Ghana for a short period, they can acquire a SIM Card using their Passports or Travel Card but they can only use the SIM Card for 30 days after which it will be deactivated. Foreigners intending to use a SIM Card for more than 30 days will have to obtain the Non-Citizen Ghana Card to do so.

All existing subscribers to mobile networks can register their SIMS via USSD and a SIM registration App (which is yet to be provided).

You can now register (or re-register) your Ghana SIM card (MTN, Glo, Vodafone, AirtelTigo)  to your Ghana Card by using the official shortcode (USSD) *404#.

How to register your SIM Card with Ghana Card

Follow the steps below if you want to do the SIM Card re-registration in Ghana so that you update your details and keep your number safe.

1. Dial *404# on the SIM Card you want to register
2. Enter Ghana Card PIN (Enter letters and figures without the hyphens)
3. Confirm Ghana card PIN
4. Enter your Surname, First Name and other names
5. Enter your Date of Birth in the format DDMMYY
6. Select your Sex
7. Confirm details
8. Submit the details provided after confirmation
9. Visit your Service provider (Agent Customer Care) to complete the registration.

If the shortcode is not working, it is because there is a lot of pressure on it. You have up to the end of March 2022 to complete the registration. You can also check early in the morning or late at night to do the update.

Note:

• The shortcode for SIM Card registration in Ghana is *404#
• If successful you get a confirmation message with a unique code
• Due to wrong details, you have 3 attempts to answer security questions
• If Unsuccessful due to verification failure at the National Identification Authority (NIA), you will be informed to contact the NIA.

Why it is important to re-register/Update your SIM Card

Here are some reasons why you should register your SIM Card with the Ghana Card right now:

All unregistered SIM Cards will be de-activated/blocked by the end of March 2022. Therefore, you need to do this exercise to keep your number safe.

It helps keep everyone else secure from scammers since the registration database will be up to date The new SIM Update will help reduce phone related crimes like prank calls, cyber-crime, mobile money fraud, and its related issues and general security

It enables subscribers to be properly identified for the use of value-added services such as mobile banking, mobile money, and electronic payment services.

The new SIM Registration update will help the law enforcement agencies to identify the SIM card owners, track criminals who use phones for illegal activities, curb incidents such as phone theft, hate text messages, mobile fraud activities, inciting violence, and combat crime such as SIM Box fraud.

Conclusion

Follow the steps outlined in this article to link your Ghana Card and your SIM no matter the network you are on. If you don’t have a Ghana Card, you can apply for one here.

Cybercrime is said to be using computers to do illegal activities or unlawfully entering computer systems to cause harm and profit off it.

Cybercrime is an enemy of the law worldwide as in America. The FBI keeps updating its list of most-wanted cyber criminals. Ghana is known to have one of the highest cybercrime activities and ranked 2nd some years back.

The government was forced to implement policies to curb this menace, including a cybersecurity maturity study executed by the Ministry of Communications.

Leading Causes of Cybercrime in Ghana

Cybercriminals look for easy ways to make big money. They target rich people or wealthy organizations like banks, casinos, financial firms, and business owners where a considerable amount of cash flows daily and hack sensitive and vulnerable information.

Catching such criminals is difficult because they work behind their PCs, and you won’t see them in person.

They work with VPNs so people won’t track their locations, hence increasing the number of cyber-crimes across the country. Computers are vulnerable, so laws are required to protect and safeguard them against cybercriminals.

For this reason, many hackers’ works are made less stressful. Below are some of the reasons for the vulnerability of computers.

Negligence

Humans can’t help but be negligent sometimes; it’s part of our human conduct. However, this slight negligence on our side allows the hackers to hack into your system. 

Storing data in a comparatively small area

Because the computer has a unique feature of storing many data in a very small space, hackers find it very easy to access this data because they’ve all been compressed in a single space. 

The unavailability of evidence

Due to how these hackers do their work, the law finds it hard to gather evidence to arrest them. They use VPNs so their locations can’t be tracked and use other individuals’ identities, thereby covering their tracks very well. 

Types of Cybercrime in Ghana

There are different types of Cybercrime in the world. Below I’ll list and discuss the different types of Cybercrime in Ghana. 

Identity theft

Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

A criminal accesses data about a person’s bank account, credit cards and other personal credentials. It has become a major problem with people using the internet for cash transactions and banking services. 

Online illegal selling

Illegal products in the country cannot be traded in the outer environment like other products, so these traders do it on the black market. These products include weapons, drugs and human organs in extreme cases. 

Fraud calls

Fraud calls are the most common ones in Ghana. I’m sure you must have heard situations like this. Individuals call you claiming they’ve mistakenly sent money to your mobile money account, and whilst talking to you, they process the details of your account and steal money from your mobile money account. This type of criminal activity is called “phishing”. 

What the authorities are doing about Cybercrime in Ghana

The government has come together and implemented policies to curb the criminal activities of hackers in the country; 

Policies have been implemented

Section 66D of the IT Act prescribes punishment for ‘cheating by personation by using computer resource’ and provides that any person who by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personation, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 3 (three).

A national security centre was launched to monitor activities of Cybercrime. 

The internet has become a critical infrastructure and facilitator of engagements for individual users, businesses, and governments across the globe.

In Ghana, the increasing reliance on the internet and Information Communication Technology has led to increased cybersecurity incidents such as ransomware, cyber theft, banking fraud, cyber espionage and other cyber-attacks targeted at critical information infrastructure.

These cybersecurity incidents have affected critical sectors of the country, including energy, telecommunications, banking and finance, and have caused disruptions in the delivery of essential services. If unchecked, it can undermine the security and economy of the country.

The government has implemented some initiatives through the Ministry of Communications to improve Ghana’s cybersecurity development.

These include the revision of Ghana’s National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy, the establishment of the National Cyber Security Centre, the launch of the Safer Digital Ghana campaign, the launch of Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact.

Others include the establishment of the Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT) at the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Security Operations Centre’s at both the Bank of Ghana and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), as well as capacity building on Cybercrime for the criminal justice sector.

Conclusion

Many people have lost money from these cybercriminals; some have still not even spoken about it. It’s a big menace to society and industry, and we all need to take cybersecurity seriously.

Every Ghanaian that went through the Basic and Secondary school system here in Ghana has written the BECE and WASSCE (or SSCE) respectively. These examinations are what determines where next in the education ladder an individual would climb to.

However, as it is with most documents, certificates from WAEC covering these examinations might get missing. Some people even never had the chance to receive their certificates from their schools.

It must be very disturbing when you want to apply for a job or to further your education only to realise you can’t because you lost your BECE or WASSCE Certificate or you don’t have it at all.

Take for instance the issue of Rakiya, a 21-year-old Ghanaian who needed her BECE Certificate to add to documentation to aid her travel outside the country. She travelled from Accra to the Ahafo region of Ghana only to realise that the school she attended in 2009 had collapsed, and hence there was no way to get her certificate.

Well, there is a way for everyone who wrote the BECE, WASSCE or SSCE to retrieve their certificates online via a means referred to as the attestation of results.

This attestation of results, according to WAEC, is to replace damaged or missing certificates and can be used as a substitute. Let’s walk you through the process.

Collection Centres for replacement of Missing/Damaged WASSCE, SSCE & BECE Results and Certificates

When you are filling the form to replace your certificate, you have to choose a physical location to receive the result when it is ready. Here is the approved list of WAEC offices to receive a new certificate according:

• Accra (Head Office)
• Bolgatanga, Branch Office
• Cape Coast, Branch Office
• Ho, Branch Office
• Koforidua, Branch Office
• Kumasi, Branch Office
• Sekondi, Branch Office
• Sunyani, Branch Office
• Tamale, Branch Office
• Wa, Branch Office

Steps to retrieve your Lost WASSCE, SSCE & BECE Certificate or Results

If you damaged or misplaced your WASSCE, SSCE or BECE results, follow the instructions below to retrieve them:

1. Visit the WAEC Online Attestation of Results online request form at https://resultattestation.waecgh.org/form.aspx
2. On that page, fill in your details and address
3. Next upload a passport photo of yourself
4. Then, enter the examination details for which you need the attestation of results (Index Number, Collection Centre, Examination Type and Examination Year)
5. Next, upload a valid photo ID (about 50KB)
6. Click on “Submit and Proceed to Payment”
7. On the next screen, you will be asked to pay through Visa, MasterCard or AirtelTigo Money. Make your payment of GHS 350.00
8. Click on Submit after payment
9. You will be given a date to collect your new BECE/WASSCE/SSCE Certificate from your chosen Collection Centre.

Conclusion

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has made it possible to retrieve certificates and results. All you need to do is remember your particulars and then you would be able to retrieve either your SSCE, WASSCE or BECE Results.