WITH EACH passing day, citizens of this country are made aware of the increasing cases of internet fraud that are being perpetrated by both Ghanaians and foreigners, especially those from our sister country, Nigeria, to the detriment of our image as a free country.

The deputy director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr. Patrick Kwabena Ampewuah, has had to sound a word of caution to Ghanaians due to the increasing rate of all forms of fraudulent activities being carried out by sophisticated criminals.

According to him, 14,657 cases of fraud were recorded in 2003, an increase of 1,455 on the 2002 figure of 13,202 cases. Most of these were advance fee fraud, otherwise known as 419 and cyber fraud involving the use of the Internet.

Considering the importance of the worldwide web in our development, this increasing use of cyber space for criminal purposes poses a serious threat to Ghana's image and may negatively impact on our ability to engage in E-comerce and generally using the internet for productive purposes.

The police say the use of the internet for fraudulent purposes is popular because it guarantees anonymity and cuts across geographical borders. No longer need the criminals meet their victims face to face. All that is required is persuasiveness, perseverance and a modicum of intelligence.

Thus, through cyber space, it has been possible for these criminals to make millions of dollars by making all sorts of false claims to unsuspecting people.

The Chronicle is alarmed at the way internet cafes have been allowed to proliferate through the length and breadth of the country without any form of regulations whatsoever. Everyday, it appears new cafes spring up and all that is required is a bank of computers and a telephone line to set up business.

We are not even certain of which government agency or ministry is responsible for regulating these mushrooming internet cafes, or whether those who should be responsible are aware of the role they have to play.

Inasmuch as the government has proclaimed its desire to promote the private sector, so it can become the engine for this country's economic growth, we believe things worth doing must be done well. This need thus imposes on us the duty to make sure that things are done lawfully so we can win international respect.

Other African countries, where this problem has reared its head, have taken strict measures to ensure that criminals and fraudsters are not given easy chances to perfect their nefarious acts.

However, in Ghana, it would seem we are so lax and nonchalant about such matters that, some unscrupulous people see our society as a goldmine for making quick money. Many of the 419 scammers and cyber criminals are not Ghanaians; at least there are only a few Ghanaians led by their foreign partners in crime.

The Chronicle has no doubt that should the situation continue the way it is going, it would not be too long when some form of international sanctions would be slapped against us as a punitive measure for allowing our hospitality to be abused.

The internet represents a great means to access opportunities for education as well as e-comerce which can accelerate the rate of our national development.

But like every human institution, it can also be abused and used in diverse negative ways.

The Chronicle calls on the government to immediately take steps to bring some sanity and security into the cyber space business. We are certainly not advocating for draconian measures that would stifle our creative use of the internet.

What we would like to see, however, is a scenario where genuine users of the worldwide web can go about their legitimate business with the full assurance that the criminals in their midst would be given no space to operate.

This must be done as soon as practicable so that the rest of the world would have confidence in us.