This is one of the most popular scams in online dating. Nigeria and Ghana are notorious for their scammers and hence most people probably wouldn’t pursue a relationship with someone from one of these countries. These scammers are well aware of this and therefore often pretend to be from the USA/ UK/ Australia/ Canada or some other Western country.
Armed with their fake identity, the scammer proceeds to forge a bond with you. They often communicate with you for weeks and months so you think you are getting to know them better while it is actually all part of their master plan. The standard scam story then starts to unfold as your online date suddenly has some sort of emergency in Nigeria or Ghana. The stories may range from a businessman having an accident while in Nigeria for work to a helpless woman being stranded in Ghana; from asking for charity donations for Africa to a family member having a brain hemorrhage while in Africa. At the end of the day they all have the same basic plot – there is an emergency and won’t you please send them some money? Rest assured, once you do send the money that is the last you will hear of them and your money.