Attempted scam on myspace

Hi there! I'm new to this site... I was reading up on scams and scam artists once I realized this guy who contacted me was possibly a scammer.
I'm not sure how to find out positively, due to not having a real name to go with his fake face.
I was "befriended" on myspace by a person who "thought I had a great profile"
He corresponded with me a few weeks, feeding me with compliments, and saying a little about where he lives (Ghana Africa), and that his parents are dead so he lives with his ill grandmother.
Over Christmas I was at a game store and noticed a game with "his" picture on it. He goes by ronaldinho II (after the last o those are i's) on myspace. I found there is a pro soccer player with the name ronaldinho. His photos are the ones this guy is using.
I never mentioned being suspicious about him being a scammer, but watched what I said to him, and he to me very carefully.
Last week he told me his grandmother fell ill and he needed help to provide her with the surgery she needs to get better. I have replied once, telling him I have no means to help him since I'm not a doctor and I've recently had surgery myself which put my family in debt.
I was greatly dissapointed that I could not find a place on myspace to report a scammer.
Other than discontinuing discussion with him is there more I should do? How can I help protect others who might not figure him out in time? I have kept all of the correspondence, except the first letter which of course had his "other" name (Zacharia? something)... although they say little.
If anyone could help me figure out if my instincts are right about this guy and or help me try to stop him or warn others please let me know.
Thanks in advance,
Me

Welcome here, this time a good story, I like that.
You got away without losing money and discovering it on your own, by accident, but now you have an idea how people sometimes get sucked in.
I would stop all contact with him (you already did) and try to report him to a moderator on the forum there with as much evidence as you can collect. Don't be disappointed when they don't seem to act right away, there might be a few reasons why they leave his profile up for a while, they can investigate who else he is talking to (scamming) and warn those people and they can go through his messages to see what else he has been up to and/or if he talks to other scammers there. I have no MySpace account, but if you can add a line in your profile about your former friend, say a link to this threat here, that would give possible victims a step further in the right direction. If you can place a message on his own page (some date sites allow greetings and short messages like that) then don't hesitate to do so. Check what kind of information he might have collected from you and make sure that that info isn't used in a wrong way.
Posting his pictures(his stolen pictures) on different website could help other victims too, the scamwarners here can help you with that.
Good job and you got away clean.

Hi, vsluv, and welcome to Scamwarners!

Did you correspond totally through MySpace, or did you use regular email? Most scammers want to move to email farily quickly, just in case somebody reports them to the site and they get bounced.

If you used regular email, if you can post one of his emails (preferably one of the early ones), including the headers, someone here can point out warning signs. Since he said he was from Ghana, I don't doubt that his IP address would point to Ghana. The ill grandmother, however, is a big red flag. You took the right option when you told him you couldn't help.

As for the profile on MySpace, I can't recommend reporting it, for several reasons. If the scammer is under investigation, taking the profile down may cause the investigators to lose evidence. Also, if you post his MySpace name, his email address, and one or more of his emails to you (I would also include his initial MySpace message to you, if you have it), they will show up on searches. That way you would be helping to warn other potential victims.

I have just been contacted by 2 different people from the same place in Ghana (Tamale). They contacted me through messaging rather than going on the friend request page. I answered both of them but thought both people rather strange with the questions they asked me and the information they gave me.
One has now asked for my email address which I will not give out to anyone. The other one is calling me mummy which I found strange. And the first one is asking me to adopt her.
I have stopped corresponding due to the fact that I think the next step will be some really sad story and asking for money to be sent there.
The stories are very similar to your story and could be a group of people working out of the same area or something. I definitely think it could be a scam.

Hi, choo45!

You did the right thing in not continuing the correspondence. The people (or possibly one person - one never knows) are trying something akin to romance scamming, except they are wanting you to be a parent figure to them. After all, if you are their parent you almost HAVE to give them money if they need it, right?

Do you still have the messages they sent you on MySpace? Many times such scammers will spam the same message out to many people at once, and the more examples that get posted in forums like this, the more likely it is that someone checking out the message will find them here.

Good work in spotting them.