"Please Send Money Now": Family Emergency Scams That Target Ghanaians Abroad

Short answer: if a family member or friend in Ghana messages you for urgent money, especially to a new MoMo number or "a nurse's" or "an officer's" number, stop and call them on the number you already have before you send anything. Scammers take over WhatsApp accounts and copy names and photos because people abroad send money fast when someone they love is in trouble.

How these scams work

• Hacked WhatsApp. Your relative's real WhatsApp account is taken over, usually after they shared a 6-digit code. Messages really come from their number, so they look genuine. The scammer writes to everyone in their contacts. (See how WhatsApp accounts get hacked with a 6-digit code.)
• A "new number". "Hi, it's me, my phone fell in water, this is my new number." A day later comes the request for money.
• A hospital emergency. Mum has been admitted, the hospital will not treat her until a deposit is paid, and here is the doctor's or nurse's MoMo number.
• An arrest or accident. Your brother has been arrested or caused an accident, and an "officer" needs money today to release him or settle quietly.
• A deal that will not wait. A plot of land, a car or goods at a great price, but the seller needs a deposit now.

The pattern is always the same: urgency, secrecy and a payment to someone other than the person you know.

Check in one minute before you send

1. Call them on their old number, a voice or video call, not a text. A scammer with a hacked WhatsApp can type, but cannot sound like your mother.
2. Call someone else in the family who would know about the emergency.
3. Ask a question only the real person can answer, something that is not on social media.
4. Check the name on the MoMo number. Start the transfer and look at the registered name shown before you confirm, or look the number up on TrustCheck to see if others have reported it. If the name is a stranger, stop.
5. Pay the hospital or the business directly, never a personal number, and ask for an official receipt.

Ghana police do not collect bail or "settlement" money on personal MoMo numbers, and hospitals in a real emergency can be called on their official line to confirm a patient is there.

Already sent the money?

1. Call the MoMo provider immediately (MTN, Telecel or AT) with the transaction ID and ask them to block or reverse it. Speed matters.
2. If you sent it through an app or bank abroad, contact them at once and report it as fraud.
3. Report it in Ghana to the Cyber Security Authority on 292 (call or text) or WhatsApp 0501603111.
4. Report it where you live, for example in the US at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
5. Warn the family and tell your relative to recover their WhatsApp account and turn on two-step verification.
6. Report the number on TrustCheck so the next person who checks it sees the warning.

Protect your family before it happens

• Agree a family code word for real emergencies.
• Help older relatives turn on WhatsApp two-step verification and tell them never to share a code with anyone.
• Agree that money is only ever sent to numbers you already know, and that new numbers are always confirmed by a call.