Help!!??

[anonymous]

salam..well about 6 months ago, I received a letter from a poor muslim female student in Ghana wanting financial support for education. I can be very naive in such situations and quickly fell for her words; so decided to send some money. I emailed her asking for method of payment and soonafter I became very busy and decided to come back to it when I am free. In the meantime she kept sending me emails and I replied whenever I had time. Yesterday I was talking to my friend about this and she said its a hoax and its very well known that some Africans do this in order to get some funding and may actually be using it for reasons such as drugs. She said dont even consider sending it there and send it to a proper charity organisation. Now because I havent actually sent anything yet..you might ask what is the problem? Well the problem is I cant sleep properly knowing I lead someone on and probably built up there hope for months and then not send anything! I feel like i have to and i should send something so that this is not a sin on me!! What should I do??? Will i be sinning if they used it in the wrong way? How can I get out of this?
Also i have checked to see if the school she will be at has some sort of address but i havent found anything.

 

[PersianPrince]

salam..well about 6 months ago, I received a letter from a poor muslim female student in Ghana wanting financial support for education. I can be very naive in such situations and quickly fell for her words; so decided to send some money. I emailed her asking for method of payment and soonafter I became very busy and decided to come back to it when I am free. In the meantime she kept sending me emails and I replied whenever I had time. Yesterday I was talking to my friend about this and she said its a hoax and its very well known that some Africans do this in order to get some funding and may actually be using it for reasons such as drugs. She said dont even consider sending it there and send it to a proper charity organisation. Now because I havent actually sent anything yet..you might ask what is the problem? Well the problem is I cant sleep properly knowing I lead someone on and probably built up there hope for months and then not send anything! I feel like i have to and i should send something so that this is not a sin on me!! What should I do??? Will i be sinning if they used it in the wrong way? How can I get out of this?
Also i have checked to see if the school she will be at has some sort of address but i havent found anything.

This is definitely not an easy one. I wouldn't necessarily follow what I say, but perhaps have a think about it and proceed with what you think is the right thing to do.

Did you ever ask her how she found your contact details? If you were to send money, such as through Western Union, they will obviously ask if you have met the person. Did you agree to a very large amount? Did you say you couldn't find the address of her school? I guess it is very difficult to judge what is the reality from where you are now. But I think, if I were in your shoes, I would probably ask some questions and see if I believe her answers tally up. What does your "gut" tell you?

 

[MartyrX]

How did this person find you? Was it some random message or email?

 

[UmmSqueakster]

How did this person find you? Was it some random message or email?

My question exactly. The emails I use on muslim message boards are targeted for scams that are dripping with "muslim" terminology. They'll start with a long greeting, a bismillah, pleading with you for the sake of Allah (swt) for help.


Ghana is a very big country for these kinds of scams. Instead of giving the money to a person who may well be fictious, give to a charitiable organization that does work in Ghana.