Dad and mom have been urged to stay alert as consultants warn a WhatsApp scam during which fraudsters goal moms and dads whereas pretending to be their youngsters is evolving artwork “breakneck pace”.
The scam begins with a textual content, beginning “Hello mum” or “Hello dad”, earlier than the sender tells of shedding their cellphone and being locked out of their bank account. Ultimately the scammer asks the individual to switch some cash or cowl hire.
These messages are likely to arrive by way of WhatsApp or textual content, though the fraudsters don’t at all times masquerade as offspring, typically opting to be shut buddies and even claiming to be the recipient’s mother and father.
Action Fraud reported that ‘Hello Mum’ and ‘Hello Dad’ rip-off texts led to a total financial loss of £226,744 between 2023 and 2025 for victims throughout the UK, based on a Freedom of Data request.
Information from Santander UK reveals that amongst prospects of the financial institution, fraudsters who pretended to be somebody’s son had been essentially the most profitable, adopted by daughters, then moms.
Chris Ainsley, the financial institution’s head of fraud threat administration, warned the scams are evolving at “breakneck pace”. He mentioned: “We’re listening to of situations the place AI voice impersonation know-how is getting used to create WhatsApp and SMS voice notes, making the rip-off appear ever extra reasonable.”
“In case you’re ever requested for cash out of the blue on any social or communication platform, confirm the request by selecting up the cellphone.”
These “smishing” scams begin with a pleasant message from somebody claiming to be near the recipient from an unknown quantity. If the recipient doesn’t reply, they could ship repeated messages earlier than giving up. Those that do reply will discover the fraudsters purpose to enter a dialog with generic particulars.
Shortly into the trade, these fraudsters will declare they urgently want cash and put strain on the recipient for fast assist. This may very well be to do with shopping for a brand new cellphone or paying an pressing invoice.
The first purpose of this trade is for the fraudsters to get cash; one essential element is that the “senders” typical bank account will probably be out of the query for the switch, which means they are going to ask the recipient to ship cash to an account they’re unfamiliar with.
For these apprehensive about whether or not their liked one is in actual bother, consultants advocate making an attempt them on their actual quantity – and never panicking in the event that they don’t reply straight away.
Different methods of checking for sure may very well be by ready to see them in individual or asking them a query solely the opposite individual would know the reply to.
Client recommendation service Which? means that to forestall future scams of this sort, it’s price establishing a household password to verify a sender’s credentials.
Recipients who suppose they’ve been scammed, and have already transferred the money, can name their financial institution right away to cease the fee.
WhatsApp messages may be reported by way of the app and rip-off texts may be forwarded to the quantity 7726, which fits to the phone community suppliers. All scams may be reported to Action Fraud.
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