MONEY
It’s a particularly cruel con, preying on parents wanting to help their children. Read on to know what to look out for and how to protect your family
Most parents are probably used to receiving a text starting with “Hi mum”, so now criminals have taken advantage and developed a scam pretending to be a child texting their mother on a new phone and then asking for money. It’s a cruel trick, taking advantage of a mother’s desire to help their children, and it’s on the rise. “Action Fraud has had thousands of reports of the “Hi Mum” text scam. In just five months last year fraudsters stole £1.5 million from unsuspecting people in the UK,” says Laura Rettie, Editor-in-Chief of finance.co.uk. We don’t fully know how they’ve identified which phone numbers to target, but Laura says it’s likely that “they’ve stolen online data, which has identified mobile numbers of adults with adult children.”
This scam is common, but sadly, one of the reasons it continues to be successful is the shame and embarrassment involved for those affected. In fact, we reached out to multiple victims for this piece, but all felt too humiliated to speak publicly. We don’t want embarrassment to allow more innocent people to lose their hard-earned money, so here’s how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.
KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT
If you receive a message from an unknown number, there are a few things to look out for. “The scammer will start by explaining why they are contacting you via a new number,” Laura explains. She says the messages will often follow a similar pattern like these examples, “Hi, Mum, my phone just broke, so you can delete my number and save this one”, “Hi Mum, I’m texting you from a friend’s phone. I’ve smashed my phone, and my friend’s phone hasn’t got much charge left, can you WhatsApp my new number please”, “Hey Mum, it’s me. I’ve got a new number, you can delete the old one”. If the recipient has more than one child, criminals even have a way to keep tricking you, adds Laura. If you respond questioning which child is texting, they often reply with a generic response such as, “Your favourite one!”, “Your youngest/ Your oldest!” or “Your firstborn and cutest!”
BE WARY OF MESSAGES ASKING FOR MONEY
In terms of how the scam works, Laura explains, “Typically the fraudster will pretend to be your child and say they are messaging from a new number because they’ve damaged their phone or have been locked out of it somehow. The scammer will send a few texts to make you believe you are speaking with your child and ask how you are with a bit of general chat. Then shortly after, they will start asking you for money. They will invent an imaginary scenario, makin
