AVOIDING SCAMS IN GHANA
There’s no doubt that the internet has made life a lot easier, what with communications, emails, shopping, information and so forth. However, the problem with this is that it has also made life easier for criminals. As the world is brought closer together it results in scams that can be operated on people in foreign countries. This means that not only is it easier to carry out scams, it is also easier to get away with it as police have to conduct investigations across boarders. It is a serious problem, with Nigeria being a country that was once highly associated with it. Because of the reputation, however, this has moved on to Ghana.
Online fraud is so common that there are regular complaints made about such examples every week, including the American embassy in Ghana, who receive more than ten every single week. They often involve scams carried out on dating websites, but they can also take the forms of fraudulent business opportunities. The problem is getting worse largely as a result of the scammers themselves becoming highly skilled in their craft. It means that the sorts of people who are being scammed are not just vulnerable people with a few wires loose as is the stereotype, but people who are sensible and taken in by an elaborate and convincing scheme.
If it is a romantic scam it will often involve someone making contact via a dating website and then the contact declaring that they are working in Africa. As the relationship progresses this person will then trick them into sending them money for various purposes – they were in an accident, they need it to pay for work or they might pretend that they are having other financial difficulties. The problem is, once the person realises that they have been the victim of a scam it is too late as there is little chance of recovering the money. Some people only send hundreds, but there have been cases where people have sent hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It may seem like it would be easy to spot a fraudulent business, but the scammers have done their homework. It means that fraudsters operating in Ghana will know exactly how to make their claims seem legitimate to try and trick even the smartest of people.
It means that background checks are very important with anyone you deal with in these circumstances.