To think this is a scam

[KateMiddletonsExtensions]

Received a text saying

"Hi Kate, just to let you know my new mobile number, speak soon xx"

No sign off. How am I expected to know who it is? Am I bloody psychic? Or is it a scam? I put the number in whocalledme.com but nothing came up.

Has anyone else received a message like this? I've blocked it but screenshotted the text and number for future reference.

😂🤣

Awww that's SO thoughtful and kind of you! But you don't need to be. I've been talking to this officer regularly and was told to contact them if I had any problems however trivial. You don't know the details and I'm not posting anything about it, but really there's no need to be 🍅

The hysteria on this thread was mental 😂

I don't know how some people manage to make it through the day, honestly. Imagine calling the police about this and then finding out it was a friend texting you.

That (I suspect bored or they'd not have given you the time of day) police officer will be recounting this to his colleagues and at home - it will be one of their 'you'll never believe what this moron contacted us about' stories of the future.

I wouldn't be chuckling about it, I'd be mortified.

No wonder the police were so busy. They must be pissing themselves that they had to ring on your behalf. Easiest solved "crime" ever.

Yes, almost certainly a scam, and especially if you don't know a Kate. I get this kind of thing probably a couple of times a month, but I get. 'hi mum. It's your favourite son here, this is my new number, I got water in my old phone!'

Well, I've just got one daughter - and NO sons, and my DD most definitely calls me mom, not mum. So I think 'nice try.'

I also have quite a few messages, - maybe two or three a month - trying to scam me into clicking on a link for a package that Amazon tried to deliver, and I need to pay 2 pounds to get it redelivered (and I have to put my bank details in obvs.) I also get the HMRC scam, usually in the form of a phone call. I just hang up.

I don't trust a soul in this world (apart from DH and DD,) and I am very, very suspicious of everybody. So I'm highly unlikely to ever fall for a scam. I mean, I can't say it would never happen, but I don't think it would.

Glad to have entertained you all on a midweek morning.

Yeah I’d be slightly embarrassed too tbf. Nothing about it suggested scam - the ones that do are “hi mum I’ve lost my phone this is my new number, please send me money” type ones where they don’t have your name. Not “hi Kate”. Nothing to stop you texting back as they already have your number so you wouldn’t be giving them anything.

Or they've hacked someone she knows account and have sent the message to their contact list hoping for a few replies to exploit one way or another, even just getting her contact list to carry on the scam.

I've had my number spoofed and get random people ringing asking why I rang them and I explain it's a scam and I didn't ring them. But many seem to be old people who really don't understand some have rung me back multiple times. If the scammers have a load of people's numbers some of them will bite.

It’s very quick and simple to say, ‘who’s this?’ and see what their response is. If it’s no one you know then it’s fair to block/never respond to them. Bit of a reach to mention it to the police but I guess it’s understandable after being a victim of a crime

@CerealPonderer @frannygallops
Given the OP advised the police someone had stolen items from her car, I highly doubt they will be having a good old chuckle updating them with potential new information!

I don't need to look phishing, I'm perfectly aware of how scams work and, surprisingly maybe, I know how to block a number if I find out it wasn't someone I know who sent the original message

I'll say again no one can make you send them money, there's no risk to a sensible person replying to this text and reacting based on the reply

I'm absolutely not saying it's a genuine message but to jump to reporting to the police is bonkers imo

ETA I got distracted while typing this and see that the OP now knows it was her friend

Glad it's solved but given that so many posters absolutely know it was a scam text you might want to be a little circumspect before believing the policeman, maybe he's in on it 😁

@BarcardiWithGadaffia I didn't advise the OP to report to the police, I advised not to reply to the message.

However given the update that OP had items stolen from her car, I think she did right to forward the message to be added to the crime details!

You don't need to send someone money to fall victim to fraud, you can be a victim of account takeover, it only takes the fraudster to obtain basic details and the next thing you know you either have no money in your bank or credit cards maxed out or even credit cards in your name!

It may be a simple reply, "who is this" but one of the steps has been completed that the mobile number is active!

Yes, so not ‘obviously’ as many earlier posters were suggesting.

@KateMiddletonsExtensions I am just going to put this out there and probably get backlash from other users but I deal with fraud victims everyday 😆

So when the police told you it was your best mate, have you spoken verbally to your best friend using the new mobile number? A fraudster could potentially seek you out on social media (if you don't have it locked) and pretend to be the person who you appear to be tagged mostly with. I mean the police wouldn't know your friends voice. 😬

Sensible OP - no wonder so many people get scammed out of money!

Years ago a common follow up to handbag thefts was to call the home phone number to check no-one was in, or to call it and pretend to be from John Lewis. Tesco/the Local Pub where the bag was "lost" and say the bag had been handed in and arrange for the victim to go and collect it. Then, knowing the house was likely to be empty (and thief had address and keys), go and burgle it.

Actually if you reply you’re confirming that the number is active and more likely to be touched for a scam.
The op did the right thing in her circumstances.

OK, I'll bite, how would the OPs bank account be taken over by someone who knows her name and phone number?

It's obvious she's not stupid so how would the scam progress?

Deffo a scam, there’s a reddit where people share these all the time. They reply pretending to go along with the scam. It is called r/scambait

😂😂😂

And are the police in cahoots?

The police officer rang me back and asked if I knew Jane Smith. She's my best mate. I rang her on the number and spoke to her.

So after all of that it turned out to be your friend? Wow. Next time just send them a text back, it’s not really that difficult

What? Spoofing your number is NOT the same as hacking your phone to get to your contact list - and if they’ve hacked your phone I think the contact list is low down the list of what data they could steal!!

but I was saying that in response to a load of posters saying “did they use your name” “is Kate your name” when it was very obvious she was using her MN username in place of her real name 🙄

They don’t usually use names though. They’ll say “hi mum” or something.