Fraudsters and frayed family bonds

Fifty-year-old Andaratu Imoro is a retailer living in Savelugu, around 20 km from the capital, Tamale.  She sells porridge at the local community center to help provide for her five children. Digital participation has changed the way she manages her money but she still fears that the new banking methods are susceptible to fraud.

I use my phone for communication, mobile money transfers, and listening to music or radio. Saving money has become easier lately. Now I don’t have to walk to the bank or carry cash when I am going to the market. Everything is saved to my SIM card. It allows me to transfer money to any of my relatives or do a business transaction much more easily.

The only challenge these days is fraud. Internet fraudsters have developed many different ways to cheat us. Technology has also broken the bonds between families. We used to visit each other a lot. But now everyone prefers talking on the phone rather than face-to-face contact.

Maxwell Suuk / Matthew Moore

The #speakup barometer is a DW Akademie project that examines the connection between digital participation, freedom of expression and access to information. Learn more at www.dw.com/barometer