African Food and Art

Thank you to our latest donor, Tony. Thank you, Tony. We were able to purchase three new stainless steel pots to continue our cooking and teaching heritage.

Sakawa Boys African Dating Money Scams

I love you so send me money African dating scams. Dating scams cost victims over 80 million dollars a year from Sakawa boys in Ghana.

African Dating and Money Scams

Sakawa Boys African Dating Money Scams

You already know to be cautious whenever you go online, so you don't fall prey to the scammers that flourish on the internet. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. People throughout the world have fallen victim to dating scams from individuals and companies allegedly based throughout Africa. An individual claiming to be trapped in Africa and needs financial assistance to return to the United States is usually the common storyline.

Typically other scam operations begin with an unsolicited communication, usually by phone, email, Facebook or more commonly on dating websites, from an individual who describes a situation that promises a quick return on money or needs a desperate loan for an emergency overseas. In other words, someone needs money in someplace and your help is needed to do it.

Dating scams target lonely single women and men looking for love online. Dating scams cost victims about 80 million dollars in 2014, an average of 14,000 thousand dollars per victim according to the FBI’s fraud report online statistics. Love already leaves you emotionally vulnerable, but you can't let that vulnerability blend over into other areas of your life as well and fall for internet scams based in Africa. 

Online catfishes or fraudsters pretend to be beautiful women. They play clips of the women-saying hello. They then tell their targets that their microphone or speakers are not working so they cannot speak, they can only communicate via messages. Over time, they build up a romantic relationship with them before convincing them to send them money.

Others pretend to have a concession in gold, timber, securities or oil to persuade people to hand over money for their fake business arrangements. The group of fraudsters has come to be known as the Sakawa boys in Ghana, a term which means putting inside in the Hausa language. Sakawa boys are known specifically for online dating scams but have since broadened to include all types of online frauds and scams mainly targeting foreigners. 

Cybercrime contributed to Ghana being blacklisted for money laundering by the international watchdog the global Financial Action Task Force in 2012. If you are concerned about an American in distress overseas, but you are not sure if it is a legitimate case, call the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at 888-407-4747. 

If you are concerned someone may be impersonating a friend or loved one on Facebook, change your privacy settings and report the profile and follow the on-screen instructions to file a report. Dating scam victims go to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center www.ic3.gov/default.aspx and file an online complaint.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim of a scam from Africa or any place else in the world is to use common sense. Do not wire or transfer money to anyone you’ve never met in person no matter how much they profess instant unending passionate love for you.


Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

  1. African Country Names Your Saying Wrong
  2. What do Waist Beads Symbolize in Africa?
  3. About African Healers and Witchdoctors
  4. Hurricanes are Angry African Ancestors
  5. Highest Temperature and Lowest Temperature in Africa
  6. About African Night Running


Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Week’s Best African Culture Posts

Keto Moroccan Dinner Cooked Slowly

Image
Slow Cooked Moroccan Kefta Lamb Meatballs   Keto Tagine Morocco is at the geographic and cultural crossroads between Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.   In Morocco, the term tagine refers to a slow cooked stew as well as the pot the stew is made in. Kefta Tagine Kefta Tagine is a keto-friendly Moroccan lamb meatball food dish fitted for your low-carb lifestyle. The slow cooking of the meatballs allows the flavors to meld beautifully, creating a fragrant, hearty keto meal. The star of the Kefta Tagine dish is lamb, symbolizing the richness of Moroccan hospitality. Lamb meat has been a staple in North African cuisine for centuries, with lamb being central to celebrations and religious festivals.  Ground lamb meat is spiced and shaped into small balls, known as kefta, a preparation that dates back to ancient Berber traditions.  The kefta are seasoned with cumin, paprika, and coriander, spices that have shaped Morocco’s history in the global trading of spices whi...
Learn More About Africa

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Image
How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali ...
Learn More About Africa

God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers

Image
God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers. Mother carry me; I will carry you as well in the future. Mothers and Children African Proverbs We Love If the herders are lost the sheep will get lost. - African Proverb A small hole not mended in time will become a big hole much more difficult to mend. - African Proverb   Work the clay while it is still wet. - African Proverb Love has twenty pairs of eyes. - African Proverb   Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. - African Proverb   Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls. - African Proverb   A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer. - African Proverb   Honor a child and he will honor you. - African Proverb Mother African Proverbs and Sayings We Love A child may have too much of its mother's blessing. Wars detested by mothers. Children suck the mother when they are young, and the father when they are old. Our mothers give to...
Learn More About Africa

All About The 18 Islands of Cabo Verde

Image
All About The 18 Islands of Cape Verde Cabo Verde formally known as Cape Verde until 2013, is a group of 18 U-shaped islands located off mainland Western Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. All About the 18 Islands of Cabo Verde Cabo Verde is not one large island but a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal. The Portuguese discovered and colonized the once uninhabited Cabo Verde islands in the 15th century. Due to its central location between Africa and America, Cabo Verde was a major trading port for African slaves for over three centuries by the Portuguese. Cabo Verde Slave Trade Slave traders from mainly North America and Portugal would travel to Cabo Verde and purchase slaves who would labor to grow mainly cotton, rice and indigo. Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese heritage. During the 15th to 19th centuries, European powers, including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English, established trading posts and forts on the islands of Cabo V...
Learn More About Africa