"Hi Mum" SCAM (AKA WhatsApp family scam) - beware

[ClariceQuiff]

A few people at work have been targeted by this scam so I thought it would be a good idea to post a thread here for awareness, as it particularly targets parents.

What happens is:

You receive a message along the lines of 'Hi Mum, it's me - I've lost my phone, this is my new number'
You then save the number as your DD/DS's new contact.*
Shortly after, you receive a message from your 'child' asking for money - sometimes building on the lost phone theme, e.g. can't access their banking app so need you to pay an urgent bill for them; need money to replace the 'lost' phone etc.
You're given bank details to send a transfer.

You send the transfer, then get more messages asking for more money.

(*if, at this point, you ask which of your children it is, they will say 'guess!' or 'your favourite child' or otherwise avoid giving a name)

It is a SCAM. The person contacting you is a scammer, not your son/daughter.

They rely on you not wanting to leave your child in the lurch by creating a sense of urgency, and once you've sent money by bank transfer, you can't get it back.

How to avoid being scammed:

• Speak to your child, and contact them ON THE ORIGINAL NUMBER you hold for them and ask whether the message is genuine.

Hope this is helpful!

This is so useful to share!! Thank you

My Mum recently was sent a scam message on whats app along the lines of
'Hi Mum I've lost my phone, house insurance can cover it so just waiting to hear back from them"

She blocked and reported the number straight away after speaking to me on my original number. The next message would have been "please can I have some money?"

What a good job your mum was on the ball, @LittleMissPerfect28 !

I had this exact message, a couple of weeks ago. I ignored it and blocked the number - I was pretty sure it was a scam of some sort. The first clue was that the message didn’t say Hi mum, it’s Bert/Ernie/Wilf (names of my dses have been changed to protect the guilty - lol).

Yes, spot on SDTG

I also received it. Not a mum so was pretty obvious in my case!

I've had it, luckily I could see ds next to me in the sofa attached to his phone...

Thanks for heads up

Dc wouldn’t use that phrase I don’t think, but still, good to be aware

@MarshaBradyo

Thanks for heads up

Dc wouldn’t use that phrase I don’t think, but still, good to be aware

Yes, if you happen to be 'Mama' 'Mam' 'Mother' etc. or your children call you by your first name then you'd probably realise something wasn't right!

Everyone should reply with "is that you Bert?" Then have lots of fun wasting their time pretending not know how use the banking app, your smart phone for hours / days before saying. Oh yes I've just remembered I'm a man and dont have any children, do you think that's why I cant transfer the cash? Waste their time.

Like when I get cold calls about car accidents. I tell them I died in the crash so how much do they think that will get me? Hopefully a lot as its impacted every aspect of my life

Ha ha, yes, you could have a lot of fun winding them up WhiteJellycat!

My aunt sadly fell for this. She swears blind that the contact came up already as her dc name but I think she's confused

catfunk I think sometimes they leave quite a few days between giving the 'new' number and making the first request for money, so by that time the number has embedded in the victim's mind as genuine - they might even have exchanged some casual chat - and they are less likely to be suspicious.

Yes @ClariceQuiff Rhys exactly what happened they groomed her for over a week first.
My point was she swears blind she didn't change the contact name to dc name. It already came up in their name.

'That's' not Rhys !

Thanks for the heads up! I don't understand how the scammers think this would work though, I have my children's bank details stored so would certainly raise an eyebrow if the bank details the scammers sent didn't match up.

They make some excuse Norugratsatall for example, they're buying a new phone via Facebook Marketplace and the bank details belong to the seller.

@catfunk

Yes *@ClariceQuiff* Rhys exactly what happened they groomed her for over a week first. My point was she swears blind she didn't change the contact name to dc name. It already came up in their name.

It's possible to spoof a number, but then any replies your aunt sent would have gone to the 'real' number, so as you say, more likely they've managed to confuse her .

My mum had this just last week and completely fell for it. She asked who it was and they said "your favourite firstborn" which was exactly what my sister would say! She gave them full card details for both her banks. The penny did drop eventually and she managed to get in touch with her bank and they stopped everything.

They are very clever about avoiding giving an actual name Jmaho . I'm glad your mum's bank was able to sort it out for her.

@catfunk

My aunt sadly fell for this. She swears blind that the contact came up already as her dc name but I think she's confused

She probably had already added the fake new number as their contact and just forgot. People may not link the two.

My Dad was sent this (must not have said hi mum?) and he engaged for a while thinking it was my DB, but the amount of money asked for set his suspicions off so he asked a question to check it was really my DB and the scammer got really aggressive and argumentative. It was fairly convincing and manipulative though! DD was pleased to have caught on in time.

Yes, the people I know who've had it have all been female but it doesn't surprise me at all that there's a 'Hi Dad' version doing the rounds as well Threewheels Glad to hear your dad realised before he sent many money.

^ any money.

I have adult children and was taken in by this initially as the first message was very much the phrasing my youngest would use.

The second message was much more like my oldest, though, which alerted me. So I asked which DC it was and the reply came back: 'Oh, come on Mum, don't you know?'

At which point I replied 'Scam. Blocked' and deleted the chat.

It's worth being aware of, although I would always speak (on the phone or in person) with one of my children before transferring any money so it wouldn't have got that far.

My mum had this the other day. Suspicions raised as soon as they asked for a bank transfer as she knows I know doesn't do online banking.
She decided to have some fun with it and strung them along - they even asked for a photo of her credit card at one point. In the end she suggested they 'ask dad' (my parents are divorced) then told them to get stuffed and blocked them!