Dating site scams This is the most common type of scam in Ghana. The scammer uses a dating site to find potential victims and then uses a fake profile to carry out the scams. The most common websites used include Match.com, ChristianMingle.com, BabyBoomerPeopleMeet.com, OutTime.com, PlentyofFish.com, eHarmony.com, and Facebook.
Internet fraud and online scams is big business in Ghana. This is the epicenter. Online scamming has been a way of life for so long in the African country, that most information you will find when searching the web for Ghana is information related to romance fraud, gold scams, and similar ways to be a victim.
Ultimately, a Ghanaian scammer is after money and they will do anything to trick their victims into sending them money. Sometimes they may ask for it a few days after ‘meeting’ you while in other cases, they can wait for months before asking for it. It depends on how they play the scam.
There are plenty of young Ghanaian men and women who spend their days on Facebook and dating sites looking for divorced and widowed women and men on the other side of the world who they can scam. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at Ghana romance scams, why they happen, and what to look out for.
Help stop scammers by reporting suspicious profiles or messages to the dating app or social media platform. Then, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Learn more at ftc.gov/romancescams.
While it is not illegal to fake a romantic interest in another person online, it is unlawful to deceive them out of their money. Further, it is not the romantic aspect that results in criminal charges. Most of these schemes involve white-collar crime elements like: Wire fraud.
If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately. If you are the victim of a romance scam, file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
When online scammers are arrested and convicted, they face penalties such as restitution of the property they fraudulently took from their victims, and in certain instances, jail time. Online scamming crimes can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the severity and amount involved.
Your phone number is an easy access point for scammers and identity thieves. Once they know your number, they can use it to send you phishing texts, trick you into installing malware and spyware, or use social engineering attacks to get you to hand over your personal identifying information (PII).
Steps to Recovering from a Con, Scam, or Fraud SchemeRecovering from a con, scam or fraud scheme may be a long and difficult process. ... Step 1: Keep track of your credit report.Step 2: Consider filing an extended fraud alert.Step 3: Think about filing a civil suit in court.Step 4: Don't blame yourself.More items...
Information fraudsters could get from your photos A photo posted on your birthday, for example, would provide them with your date of birth, whereas a photo of a new house could potentially give them details of where you live.
PureWow6 Signs You Might Be Dealing with a Romantic Scammer.If they say, "It's an emergency." ... Their stories and background aren't matching up. ... They start blackmailing you. ... They rope you into money laundering. ... They steal your personal information. ... You've never met or spoken to them.More items...•
Here's the best way to tell if people are online in Google Hangouts. Using the Google Chrome Hangouts Plugin in Windows, you have a few indicators on a user's status. Users who are online and active will have a green dot next to their icon. Users who are offline also won't have any indicator from the friend list.
If you paid by bank transfer or Direct Debit Contact your bank immediately to let them know what's happened and ask if you can get a refund. Most banks should reimburse you if you've transferred money to someone because of a scam.
Fraud is most commonly detected through employee tips, followed by internal audit, management review and then accidental discovery; external audit is the eighth most common way that occupational frauds are initially detected.
Cybercrimes like creating Bogus websites, cyber frauds are punishable under this section of IPC with a seven-year jail term and/or fine. This section of the IPC deals with crimes related to password thefts for committing frauds or creating fraudulent websites.
If you think you have been a victim of a romance scam, do not feel ashamed or embarrassed - you are not alone. Contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk.
Slow down and talk to someone you trust. These scammers want to rush you, often professing love right away; or pressuring you to move your conversation off the dating site. Never wire money, put money on a gift card or cash reload card, or send cash to an online love interest. You won't get it back.
Never send money to anyone you've never met in person, and be advised that Ghana is one of the highest risk countries in the world for Internet fraud and romance scams . With worldwide headquarters based in Florida, United States, plus agents and field investigators in Africa and around the globe, Wymoo International provides professional services with local expertise. Whether you require a Ghana background check, company verification, international investigation, dating background check, identity verification, fraud screening or Africa private investigator, we can help. We maintain the highest trained investigators in the business. Get a free quote today.
Wymoo® International offers private investigations and confidential background checks for organizations and individuals in over 100 countries worldwide, including Ghana, West Africa. With professional field investigators, agents and support staff based in Accra, Ghana, Wymoo protects our global clients from scams and fraud through our professional and discreet investigations. The risk for fraud is very high in Ghana, so all individuals and companies should be properly verified by a highly trained professional investigator.
Online dating scams are a serious problem and there are millions of victims worldwide. Internet criminals use fake profiles to target users of social media and online dating websites, and anyone can be a victim.
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Reasons why romance scams happen in Ghana. 1. Unemployment. Ghana has one of the highest unemployment rates in West Africa. There are millions of young people in Ghana without jobs or ways to make a proper living. This has led to many Ghanaians turning to scams as their source of income.
Ghanaian scammers are really smart and have come up with various genius tricks to get people hooked. Some of them include: 1. Dating site scams. This is the most common type of scam in Ghana. The scammer uses a dating site to find potential victims and then uses a fake profile to carry out the scams.
Most Ghanaians engaging in scams are usually illiterate or really poor at grammar which is one of the reasons why they can’t get employed. Their grammar will not match their supposed education level or life station.
Scammers use WhatsApp groups to help each other become better scammers. For instance, they use such groups to share tips on mimicking various accents to trick their victims.
Scamming has become quite popular amongst Ghanaian youth especially since the unemployment rate in the country is ever high To make ends meet, young Ghanaian men and women are turning to the internet to find potential victims to scam.
The scammer pretends to be a member of the military of the target victim’s country serving in Ghana. For instance, if the scammer’s target is an American, the scammer will pretend to be a US military man serving in Ghana or another nearby African country.
Ultimately, a Ghanaian scammer is after money and they will do anything to trick their victims into sending them money. Sometimes they may ask for it a few days after ‘meeting’ you while in other cases, they can wait for months before asking for it. It depends on how they play the scam.
Fake police scam is vicious among other frauds in Ghana. The first thing most scam victims do is they contact police in the hope that they can regain their lost belongings by catching the person who duped them. Lottery Scams. Lottery scam is one the popular Ghana scams hits top in making huge community fall as victims.
Another type of scam that is trending in the list of Ghana scam is the "job scam". In the Ghana job scam, fraudsters approach the victims offering a job that perfectly suits their profile. The victims are asked to send their resumes along with their bank information. Urgent Job seekers often fall prey to these kinds of job offers and end up losing their personal financial information. Most of the job offers are from petroleum and oil gas companies that insist you to pay an advance fee for some legitimate reason.
The motive of these Ghana Scammers is to pull out money as much as they can from the innocent people. Disaster Relief Scam. In times of disaster like tsunami, tornado, or an earthquake, people do help others with funds in saving their livelihood.
Online classifieds are alert messages sent through various mediums about a product, service or an offer with a URL. Out of curiosity, users tend to click on the link and enter information about them. Scammers use this information to steal bank details, passwords and identity.
The scammer first tries to develop a good bond with the target and tries to know the user personally. After a certain period of dating, the scammer uses sympathy as a weapon and asks for money as a medical emergency and promises to pay back the user. Once the money is received, there is no trace of the scammer.
Phishing is a technique employed by spammers and hackers to gather web user's personal information to steal their identities and then their money or benefits.
A type of fraud which occurs when an ATM is compromised by a skimming device, a card reader which can be unrecognizable to look like a part of the machine. ... Read More...
Ghana scams can refer broadly to any instances in which misleading statements are made via phone, fax, or email in order to obtain money, financial information, or personal information under false pretenses.
Each of these offenses carries a long possible jail term, with mail and wire fraud alone resulting in maximum prison sentences of 30 years each when a financial institution was defrauded.
Bukh Law Firm, PLLC is a New York City based criminal defense law firm that represents clients from throughout West Africa who are accused of Internet, mail, or telephone scams. Our attorneys will ensure you enjoy all constitutional protections the U.S. justice system provides to defendants accused of wrongdoing. We understand how federal prosecutors present evidence with the goal of convicting defendants, and our legal team will help you to develop the most effective strategy possible to try to avoid prison and minimize penalties and consequences. Call us today to learn more.
While Nigeria is best-known for advance fee scams where people pay to help fake Nigerian princes get funds out of the country, Ghana is better known for online dating and romance scams.
The Embassy of the United States warns that romance scams are an especially common type of scam operated by people in Ghana or claiming to live in Ghana. Romance scams occur when an individual uses an online dating service or a social network to make a fake romantic connection.
However, if you visit the United States or a country that will extradite to the U.S., you could find yourself arrested and facing serious federal criminal charges.