Watten man warns of 'Hi Mum' text scam
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A Watten man said the public should be aware of a scam doing the rounds which may cost you a lot of money if you fall for it.
Taf Cai said he received a text message on Tuesday from an unknown number – 07752028398 – which read: "Hi Mum, please ring me on 07871412538 as I've dropped my phone and shattered the screen."
Mr Cai then posted a warning on social media saying: "I checked online and discovered this is a scam which connects you to a high cost call. I didn't fall for it. Please be aware."
The UK's consumer champion Which? has reported on the "Hi Mum" scam and said that it first appeared on WhatsApp before migrating to text messages as well. Which? say that the scammers are preying on parents by impersonating their children asking them for cash to help with some issue.
The message often catches parents by surprise with many falling for it without taking time to think the matter through. In 2022, Action Fraud said it had received 1235 reports of criminals posing as loved ones in need on WhatsApp, and assessed that total losses amounted to around £1.5m. In one instance, a mother was contacted by a fraudster pretending to be her son and tricked her out of £3600.
There have also been cases where fraudsters managed to access chat history and continued ongoing conversations to appear more convincing.
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."
Another says: "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 two numbers that Mr Cai refers to have poor reviews on the Who Called Me website which identifies and logs caller information. Both number primarily are associated with a fraudulent scam in which the "callers are reported to be pretending to be from the recipient's child, and their primary motive is to trick the recipient into calling another number". It further states that the majority of reports suggest that the "best course of action is to ignore the message" and not call the provided number.
An anonymous post on the site from someone who received a message from 07752028398 today said: "Scam text saying from child wanting you to phone them cos they have broken their phone. Avoid - read their posts!!"
