BBC football commentator Jacqui Oatley has warned others to be vigilant after her own mother nearly fell for a WhatsApp scam. The 'incredibly believable' hoax tricks parents into thinking their child is in financial trouble.
Fraudsters will stop at nothing to con people out of their life savings with numbers skyrocketing since the UK first went into lockdown in March 2020, reports the Express. While they come in many different formats, one of the latest is a WhatsApp message that has been dubbed “The mum and dad scam”.
Sports presenter Jacqui Oatley took to Twitter to tell others how her mum was approached - and very nearly fell for it. She wrote on Twitter: “I’m keen to warn you about a scam which my lovely, kind mum so nearly fell for. It was incredibly believable."
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She continued: “Someone pretends to be you but on a different number, contacts someone close to you and asks them to quickly pay a bill for you before you pay them back.” She then shared screenshots from the WhatsApp conversation between her mother and the scammer.
Appearing on BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday morning (July 14), Jacqui told presenters Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards: "My mum phoned me up saying, 'oh, have you been asking me for money?' And I said, 'oh come on mum.' 'Because somebody online has been asking me for money' [mum said]. And I was like, 'oh mum, come on, you're not going to fall for that - somebody asking you for money online."
But Jacqui's mum told her the scammer was 'really realistic' and sent her daughter the screenshots of their conversation. Upon seeing them, Jacqui 'apologised to her straight away'. She continued: "I'm so sorry for even suggesting that perhaps you had fallen for something that was really obvious. This was not obvious."
Jacqui then explained how the scammer pretended to be her, claiming that she had a new number and telling her mum to delete her old one. They then 'engaged her' in conversation - by replying to a comment Jacqui's mum had made about an outfit she'd picked out for Jacqui's daughter Phoebe - to get her mum to 'really think' the scammer was her.
Moments later, the subject turned to money. The scammer asked Jacqui's mum to pay 'bills' for her. They needed paying 'quickly' and she was unable to do it herself as she couldn't access her online banking due to her 'new phone number.'
At this point, Jacqui reckoned, her mum started to suspect something wasn't right. The scammer then sent on the bank details for the 'bills' - totalling just under £3000 - to be paid into.
Shortly after, the scammer began using pressure tactics - including saying how 'stressed' they were and demanding proof of payment. Jacqui said of her mum: "She was in two minds, on the one hand she was thinking 'that's a lot of money, that's a bit odd.' And on the other hand, she's so kind - as any parent would want to help."
"She phoned me but I missed the call... but luckily she did manage to get hold of me before she transferred any money," Jacqui said. Since sharing the screenshots on Twitter, 'so many people' had responded to say their mums had fallen for similar scams.
Jacqui said: "I urge you, please to let anybody know...that if anyone contacts you on WhatsApp saying 'this is my new number,' 'I've dropped my phone,' 'I've broken my phone, delete the old one'... just get them to send them a photo of themselves.
"A photo or video of themselves saying saying 'yes, this is definitely my new number,' problem solved."
The Nation Cyber Security Centre has warned: "Scammers try to quickly gain your trust. They aim to pressure you into acting without thinking. If a message or call makes you suspicious, stop and consider the language it uses." They also advise to report any suspicious messages you have received. Find out more here.
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