Parents are being warned about a huge increase in "hi mum" message scams on WhatsApp and other platforms.
Consumer experts say scammers are continuing to prey on parents by impersonating grown-up children and sending messages claiming to have lose their phones.
They then say they are in a difficult financial situation and need help.
Action Fraud has today warned it received 1,235 reports of the scam between February 3 and June 21 this year, amounting to a total financial loss of £1.5million, so experts say it is on the rise.
Consumer expert group Which? has urged people to take steps to avoid the con, Liverpool Echo reports.
Which? first became aware of this scam at the end of 2021 when a victim told them that a fraudster impersonating his sister had a convincing conversation with her which led to her transferring money for 'car repairs'. There have also been cases where fraudsters managed to access chat history and continued ongoing conversations to appear more convincing.
So far, there have been two examples of the scam moving over to text messages, from WhatsApp. One version of the scam reads: "Hello mum, I’ve broken my phone and I’m using a friends old one. I need to talk its urgent can you text me on WhatsApp on my new number please." This came from 07726760652.
Another example came from 07593295452 and read: "Hi mum I’m texting you off a friends phone I’ve smashed mine and their phones about to die, can you WhatsApp my new number please."
The message will typically start with saying the sender has lost their phone, it's damaged or they can't access it. The fraudsters will mostly go on to ask you for money by pointing out an imaginary difficult financial situation they’re in and playing on the close relationship you have to the person they’re impersonating.
The bank details they give will probably not match those of your loved one and it's likely the scammer will tell you it's because they can't access their bank account. If you receive a message like this don't be tempted to transfer money immediately, enquire further by asking who specifically it is by name and by calling them or asking for a voice note.
WhatsApp has warned that its users should ensure that two-factor authentication is set up on their account and never to share their six-digit pin code with others.
If you receive a suspicious text message, you can report it by forwarding it to 7726 before blocking the number. If you're concerned you've given money to a possible scam, contact your bank straight away and report the scam to Action Fraud. You can report scam messages on WhatsApp by opening up the WhatsApp chat with the unknown number and selecting Block and Report.
