Action Fraud have issued warnings about a new type of scam that has been fleecing parents of cash using the encryptic messaging service WhatsApp.
The police have reported on a number of incidents where parents have been sent messages apparently from their children asking for money due to being in financial trouble whilst away for from home. The typical ones being about a need for the price of an air ticket to get home or money for a night in a hotel after having missed a train.
The BBC reported on the rise of these scams quoting Supt Pollock of the Police Service of Northern Ireland: “In each case, a person purporting to be a family member, often a daughter or son, asks for money. Typically, the ‘child’ is short of money or late paying bills, and asks the recipient to transfer money into an account. This is backed by a story that he or she has recently changed their phone or phone number.
“Just last week, one victim lost £6,000 after receiving one of these messages. We’ve seen victims from Northern Ireland lose in excess of £65,000 to this scam. The amounts of money vary from victim to victim. In some cases that has been as low as £20, all the way up to £15,000.”
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