Fake Facebook Friend Begs for Cash
By Philip Antoh
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is on high alert after unmasking a shadowy Facebook phantom masquerading as its top brass, Julius Neequaye Kotey part of a creeping wave of cyber cons targeting officials in the cash-strapped transport sector.
In a terse statement dropped Monday, December 22, 2025, the DVLA fired a shot across the bows: ditch any social media lures or DMs purporting to be from the CEO hawking contracts, begging bucks, or prying for personal data.
Kotey, they insist, doesn’t wheel and deal on Facebook official business sticks to verified channels, no exceptions. “Delete those friend requests faster than a dodgy license expires,” the alert barked, urging users to flag the fakes straight to Meta and report to cops.
This isn’t idle chatter; the DVLA’s playing hardball, looping in security outfits to hunt the hustlers behind the hoax.
As online impersonations spike amid Ghana’s digital boom and bust insiders whisper it’s a symptom of deeper woes: underfunded cyber defenses leaving public figures as easy marks for fraudsters sniffing easy pickings from desperate job-seekers or bribe-hungry contractors.
The authority’s drawing a line in the sand: no liability for suckers who bite, and a vow to shield the public from these virtual vampires.
With vehicle licensing already a hotbed for graft, this stunt risks eroding trust just as the DVLA pushes e-reforms. Vigilance is the watchword or watch your wallet.