Watch out for ‘child in need’ Whatsapp scams as parents get duped out of £50,000

[NelsonG]

 Another WhatsApp scam is circulating, this time aimed at parents. WhatsApp scammers pretend to be desperate children who need money right away.

 People in the UK have reportedly been defrauded of nearly £ 50,000 for this type of scam. 25 cases of fraud were reported between August and October, with victims losing pounds 48,356. 

A Bedford mom shared her WhatsApp exchange with a Bedford Facebook group to warn others.

"Hello mom, it's me. I have a new number, you can delete the old one, ”read the scammer's input text. 

Toni Parker, 53, thought her son had dropped his phone down the toilet and had a new phone number (Picture: Caters News)

When the woman asked who the unknown messenger was, they replied: “Your oldest and sweetest son xx. The scammer then stated that he had  a new phone and was "transferring everything", claiming that his banking app had banned him for 48 hours. 

“Very annoying because there is nothing I can do  about it. Can you possibly pay  me and I will get it back to you asap? I'm sorry to bother you with this, '' read the scammer's text message. However, instead of sending the money immediately, the woman called her daughter, who confirmed that she was not sending the messages.

When the woman realized she was being attacked by a conspiratorial impostor, she immediately warned others about the deception.

 This is not the first time such a tactic has been used to commit fraud on WhatsApp. In August, a nurse was cheated of £ 2,500 after a scammer impersonated her son. In September, WhatsApp users were warned of the scam that could see criminals steal thousands of them.

 'WhatsApp protects our users' personal messages with end-to-end encryption, but we want to remind people that we all have one.' We advise all users never to share their six-digit PIN code with anyone, not even with friends or family, and we recommend  all users configure two-step verification for added security.

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