John,

I am very sorry to tell you, but what you have described is a common variation of a "romance scam," probably quite similar to the scams you have experienced before. The person you are corresponding with is not who they claim to be and this entire scenario has been constructed for the sole purpose inducing you to send them money.

The basic idea of these romance scams is simple: to develop a romantic relationship with someone online and then convince them to transfer money in response to a tragedy, to come visit, or some other reason.

These scams are almost always perpetrated from Ghana and other west African countries where the internet crime fighting capabilities are extremely poor.

See this warning from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana regarding scams of this kind: http://ghana.usembassy.gov/romance_scam.html

See also here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293797-c64880/Accra:Ghana:Ghanaians.And.Internet.Dating.Scams.html

Finally, see this warning from the Federal Trade Commission regarding this type of scam generally: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/onlinedating.shtm

You would be wise to cease all contact with this individual immediately, as nothing they are telling you is genuine and they will only continue to ask for more and more money.

Although it is quite certain that what you describe is a scam, there are a couple easy ways to obtain confirmation.

These scammers almost always use fake pictures that they have stolen off the internet. Since a scammer's pictures will virtually never be of themselves, you can confirm whether this person is a scammer by asking them to send you a picture holding today's newspaper. If it's a scam, they'll come up with an excuse why they can't do it, but the botXXXXX XXXXXne is if they doesn't send you the picture, then they are not legitimate.

Another way to determine if this is a scam is to conduct a "reverse image search" on the pictures they HAVE sent you. TinEye.com has developed a new technology that allows you to input an image and see where, if anywhere else, that image appears on the internet. If you input this individual's pictures and they show up elsewhere on the internet in a different context, that may prove that the pictures don't belong to the person you are corresponding with at all.

Here is a link to the TinEye.com reverse image search engine: http://www.tineye.com

So to summarize, this is very clearly a romance scam, and scams of this kind are extraordinarily common out of Ghana. If you feel that you need further confirmation that this is a scam, you can obtain it by requesting a picture of them holding up today's newspaper, which they won't be able to provide if they are a scammer since scammers always use fake pictures. You can also obtain a reverse image search on the images this person has sent you.

You would be very wise to decline to send any money to this individual or for that matter any woman online whom you have not yet met in person, as any such request is an extremely strong indication of a scam.

I sincerely XXXXX XXXXX this information helps you and I wish you the best.

If you do not have any further concerns, I would be very grateful if you would give my answer a positive rating and click submit, as this is the only way I will receive credit for assisting you. If you have any additional concerns that you would like me to address, please feel free to let me know by hitting the REPLY or CONTINUE CONVERSATION button and I will be more than happy to continue assisting you.

Finally, please bear in mind that none of the above constitutes legal advice nor is any attorney client relationship created between us.

Thank you and very kindest regards.