The latest articles on DEV Community by Shadrach Adongo (@ashardrach). https://dev.to/ashardrach https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4013831%2F58c3e674-3e78-4140-a604-9020da21de97.png https://dev.to/ashardrach en Shadrach Adongo Fri, 03 Jul 2026 15:51:05 +0000 https://dev.to/ashardrach/how-i-built-a-scam-detection-platform-for-ghana-using-django-and-paystack-3f9p https://dev.to/ashardrach/how-i-built-a-scam-detection-platform-for-ghana-using-django-and-paystack-3f9p <p>Ghana has a serious MoMo fraud problem. Scammers call victims pretending <br> to be MTN agents, send fake reversal requests, and drain accounts in minutes. <br> I decided to build something about it.</p> <p>CyberHub Ghana is a Django 6 SaaS platform that lets anyone check a Ghana <br> phone number against a community-driven scam database. Here's how I built it.</p> <h2> The Stack </h2> <ul> <li>Django 6 + PostgreSQL on Render</li> <li>Paystack live payments (MoMo + card)</li> <li>Brevo transactional email</li> <li>Telegram bot for real-time alerts</li> <li>Cloudinary for media storage</li> </ul> <h2> The Scam Checker </h2> <p>Every report gets a risk score calculated from weighted scam types:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight python"><code><span class="n">weights</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="p">{</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">momo_fraud</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">3.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">investment_scam</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">2.5</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">phishing</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">2.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">job_scam</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">2.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">romance_scam</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">2.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">other</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">1.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="p">}</span> <span class="n">total</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nf">sum</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">weights</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">get</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">r</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">scam_type</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mf">1.0</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="k">for</span> <span class="n">r</span> <span class="ow">in</span> <span class="n">reports</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="n">risk_score</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nf">min</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mf">10.0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="nf">round</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">total</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">))</span> </code></pre> </div> <p>A number reported 3 times for MoMo fraud scores 9.0 — High Risk.<br> Community reports are reviewed before approval. Verified reports stay.<br> False ones get removed.</p> <h2> The Payment Flow </h2> <p>Paystack handles MoMo and card payments. On successful payment,<br> a webhook fires and upgrades the user account automatically:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight python"><code><span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">plan</span> <span class="ow">in</span> <span class="p">(</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">premium_monthly</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="sh">'</span><span class="s">premium_pro</span><span class="sh">'</span><span class="p">):</span> <span class="n">profile</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">is_premium</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="bp">True</span> <span class="n">profile</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">premium_expires_at</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">timezone</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">now</span><span class="p">()</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="nf">timedelta</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">days</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="mi">30</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="n">profile</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">save</span><span class="p">()</span> </code></pre> </div> <p>No manual intervention. Payment confirmed, account upgraded, Telegram<br> notified — all in under two seconds.</p> <h2> What's Live </h2> <ul> <li>50+ verified Ghana scam numbers in the database</li> <li>8 CV templates (free and premium)</li> <li>Internship board with real Ghanaian company listings</li> <li>PDF course delivery via email on purchase</li> </ul> <p>Live at: <a href="https://cyberhub-ghana.onrender.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://cyberhub-ghana.onrender.com</a><br> GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/ashardrach/cyberhub-ghana" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/ashardrach/cyberhub-ghana</a></p> <p>Built it. Shipped it. Real users. Real payments.</p> cybersecurity django python showdev