Buyer safety
How to buy safely on Adwuma.
Most sales in Ghana happen payment-on-delivery — which works beautifully when both sides know the rules. This guide is the rulebook. Five minutes here saves you from 95% of the scams that target online shoppers in West Africa.
The 5 payment-on-delivery rules
Payment-on-delivery (POD) is the most common way Ghanaians transact online — and it works because the rules are clear. Follow these five and you stay protected.
Inspect the parcel before you pay
Open the box in front of the rider or pickup attendant. If something is missing, broken, or different from what you ordered, refuse to pay. Adwuma logistics partners are trained for this — it is your right.
Match the item against the Adwuma order page
On your phone, open the order on adwumagh.com and check the title, photos and price. If anything differs, do not pay until the seller clarifies in chat.
Pay only the exact total shown in the app
Riders sometimes "round up" or try to add a phantom fee. The total on your order page is the final amount. Anything extra is on the rider, not on you.
Get the MoMo confirmation SMS before handing over the goods
If you are paying by MoMo on delivery, wait for the confirmation SMS on your own phone. Never hand over an item because the rider showed you "their" confirmation screen.
Rate the order once it lands
Your rating is the single biggest reason future buyers know which sellers to trust. Even a one-line review helps.
6 red flags that something is wrong
Every common scam in Ghanaian e-commerce shares one of these patterns. If you see two or more in the same listing, walk away.
🚩 Seller asks you to pay outside the Adwuma app — "send me MoMo directly".
Why it matters: Payments outside the platform have no escrow, no dispute coverage, and no buyer protection. If a seller insists, refuse and report them.
🚩 Brand-new account with very few listings and prices far below market.
Why it matters: Fire-sale prices on new accounts are the single most common pattern for fraud. A legitimate sale on a real product is rarely more than 30% below the market median.
🚩 No verified phone, no business address, no real photos.
Why it matters: On Adwuma, verified sellers carry a green ✓ Verified badge. If you do not see one, treat the listing with extra caution — especially for items above GH₵1,000.
🚩 Pressure to commit fast — "pay today, the price goes up tomorrow".
Why it matters: Real businesses do not run countdown timers. Urgency is a manipulation tactic; pause and verify before paying.
🚩 Asks for ID photos, MoMo PINs, or one-time codes "to verify the order".
Why it matters: Adwuma never asks for your MoMo PIN or an OTP from another service. Anyone who does is trying to take over your account or your wallet.
🚩 The phone number on the listing differs from the one on WhatsApp.
Why it matters: Switching to a different number is how fraudsters move you off the platform. Keep the conversation on Adwuma chat.
How to verify a seller in 60 seconds
- Look for the green ✓ Verified badge on the seller's storefront.
- Check the storefront stats: orders sold, rating, dispute rate. Below 2% dispute rate is excellent; above 5% is a red flag.
- Read the most recent 5 reviews — not just the rating score. Specific stories of how the seller handled problems tell you more than a 4.9 average.
- Click into the seller's other listings. A real business has a coherent inventory; fraud accounts often have wildly unrelated items.
- Use Adwuma chat to ask one specific question about the item. A real seller replies within hours; a fake account often goes silent or gives a generic answer.
The Top Seller badge
Sellers with the orange ⭐ Top Seller badge have completed at least 10 orders, kept their dispute rate below 5%, and maintained a 4.3+ rating. They are the safest bet for first-time buyers.
If something goes wrong
Mistakes happen — broken items, late deliveries, the wrong product. Adwuma protects you with a 7-day dispute window on every order. Here is exactly how to use it.
- Open the order on adwumagh.com and tap "Open a dispute" within 7 days of delivery.
- Describe what happened in 2-3 sentences. Upload one photo if you can.
- Adwuma freezes the escrow payment immediately. Most disputes resolve inside 48 hours.
- If the seller does not respond in 72 hours, the case is automatically decided in your favour.
- For high-value disputes (above GH₵5,000), an Adwuma case manager will personally call you within one business day.
Important
Disputes filed inside 7 days are fully covered by Adwuma\'s Buyer Protection. After 7 days the order is auto-released to the seller and disputes become much harder to win — so always inspect on delivery and rate within the week.
The 4 most common scam patterns in West Africa
1. The "MoMo direct" diversion
Seller messages you on WhatsApp asking you to pay MoMo directly so they can "give you a discount". Once you pay, they disappear. Always pay through Adwuma — escrow holds the money until you confirm delivery.
2. The "wrong item" swap
The package contains a similar-looking but cheaper item (a counterfeit phone, an empty perfume bottle, a different fabric). Always open the package and verify contents before paying the rider.
3. The "OTP for verification" trick
Someone calls claiming to be Adwuma support and asks for a code "to verify your account". The code is your account-takeover OTP. Real Adwuma support never asks for OTPs — hang up immediately.
4. The "advance fee" auction
Listing claims you have to pay a deposit before they will hold the item for you. Adwuma has no such requirement — payment happens once, on the order itself, never as a separate deposit.