How scammers impersonate celebrities on TikTok to steal from Ghanaian users

By: Karen Dodoo Antwi

According to Meltwater & We Are Social, TikTok has overtaken Facebook to become the second most dominant social media platform in Ghana. While the platform continues to grow in popularity, especially among young people, it has become a fertile ground for disinformation, scams, and other forms of information disorder. 

DUBAWA’s investigation has uncovered a disturbing trend of suspicious accounts luring users with promises of life-changing money-making opportunities by impersonating public figures. 

These suspicious accounts prey on unsuspecting users’ desperation by harvesting their essential data and scamming them out of their savings, claiming to help them unlock tens of thousands of cedis in cash. 

One notable account, @john.dumelo95, impersonating John Dumelo, a Ghanaian actor and Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency whose official TikTok ID is @johndumelo1, posted an emotionally charged video in May 2025 with the caption: “I’m always sad when I see people suffering. Tell me how much can help you start up your own business or continue your education.” 

The post featured different videos of the legislator pieced together, and unsuspecting users were requested to leave their phone numbers or send direct messages to WhatsApp or Telegram through a given number. 

This OSINT investigation reveals that these seemingly innocent posts are part of a sophisticated honeypot scam where victims are manipulated into surrendering their data and parting with thousands of cedis in savings to faceless fraudsters.

Mapping suspicious accounts 

Using keywords such as “drop your momo number,” “DM for money,” and “how much do you need,” 10 accounts with the same characteristics and running similar schemes were identified. 

The accounts identified above made their first posts between March and June 2025, suggesting they are new. Besides bearing suspiciously similar account names of known personalities, they are flooded with videos and photos copied from the accounts they are impersonating.  

How the scam operation works

The sophisticated scam chain begins by baiting users into sharing their contact information in exchange for financial assistance. 

All the suspicious accounts identified typically share emotional messages and make false promises of financial rewards to lure unsuspecting users into sharing their phone numbers, sending direct messages with their phone numbers, or both.  

Some of the posts had captions such as “How much do you need?” “DM to get support,” and “drop your momo,” – a catchphrase for mobile money number. Some of the posts, such as the one below, are embellished with false testimonials from others who have supposedly been assisted.

In the image below, for instance, the testimony of someone who claims to have received GHS 6,000 is superimposed on the video.

Engaging the suspicious accounts

To understand the scam operations, DUBAWA contacted five of the suspicious accounts through phone numbers they directed users to send WhatsApp messages to.

A DUBAWA fellow posed as a young woman needing the money to grow their small business. 

The accounts contacted were: @osei.kwame.d51; @mr.michael42; @nana.ama.mcbrown23; @richard.niiarmaquaye3 and @mrrichard556.

@osei.kwame.d51 was the first to respond almost immediately. The account requested personal information, including the name, location, occupation, and age.

After sharing this information, the person behind the suspicious account gave additional information about how their operation works. 

They requested that an app be downloaded to get the money. 

Crypto app 

The scammer directed DUBAWA to download the Safepal app, a known cryptocurrency wallet application used to manage and trade digital assets. After setting up the app according to the instructions from the suspicious TikTok account, a cryptocurrency wallet labeled “Wallet 01-KZB” was found. The account displayed a balance of GHS 64,339.94.

The scammer claimed that GHS 48,000 of this amount could be withdrawn, provided that GHS 150 was paid for a separate login to an app that would facilitate the withdrawal.  

After requesting a discount through persistent pleas, the suspicious account hesitantly agreed to pay GHS 100 to the DUBAWA associate. 

The suspicious account then provided a different phone number through which he wanted money to be sent. 

With the payment delayed for more than 24 hours, the suspicious account reached out ostensibly to check if the agreed amount was being sent.  

Curious about what would happen next after making the payment, the amount of GHS 100 was sent to the suspicious account. 

Although the scammer agreed to the GHS100, he changed his mind after noticing a hidden balance on the mobile money payment screenshot.

Realising he could get more money, he demanded an extra GHS 50.

After agreeing to initiate the withdrawal process of GHS 48,000, the suspicious account has remained silent, despite several follow-ups to inquire about the promised login details to claim the amount. 

A growing trend on TikTok

Over the following days, the four other accounts responded to DUBAWA’s plea for financial support with similar steps. 

First, a question about the person seeking the funds, including their location and occupation. 

Second is a request to download a cryptocurrency wallet application, typically showing a balance of tens of thousands of cedis.

Third, we request payment to access new login details for a separate app that allows us to withdraw money from our cryptocurrency wallet. 

Multiple suspicious accounts on TikTok use the same modus operandi to lure unsuspecting users into sharing their personal information and parting with money. 

Based on DUBAWA’s observation, this deeply manipulative scam exploits the economic desperation of young people and the trust in celebrities to make money off TikTok users. 

Are the celebrities aware?

In a recent post, politician and farmer John Dumelo acknowledged the impersonation and warned his followers not to fall for scams using his image. 

“I don’t sell my eggs on TikTok; those accounts are fake, and they are just out to dupe you.”

Responding to the post, a user admitted to falling prey to similar fake accounts.