Trading Standards - WhatsApp Scams

17th January 2025

Over the festive period there was an increase in so-called 'Hello Mum/Dad' scams.

This is when a scammer poses as a family member or friend and sends messages via text or WhatsApp to ask you to transfer money to pay an urgent bill or invoice. 25% of respondents to the Big Scottish Scam Survey had experienced one of these scams in the past year.

One woman received a WhatsApp message that seemed to be from her daughter, asking for help to pay an urgent bill as she could not access her online banking. The woman already had her daughter's bank details so transferred the money immediately.

Her daughter then phoned to ask why the money had been transferred, at which point the woman realised the initial message had been from a scammer. Thankfully she had not transferred money to an account provided by the scammer.

In another case, a scammer impersonated the recipient's son and said they had a new phone number. They included a link, supposedly to contact them via WhatsApp. The link led to a malicious site asking for personal and account details.

How to Avoid
WhatsApp advise that you should STOP, THINK and CALL if you receive an unexpected message asking you to transfer money or purchase gift cards.
Verify that it really is your friend or family member by calling them directly, or asking them to share a voice note. Only consider the request once you are certain that it is from someone you know and trust.

Don't click on links in unexpected messages - if the message says the link leads to a WhatsApp account, open your WhatsApp account to find the person's profile rather than clicking on a link.

Find out more
ScamShare PDF: www.tsscot.co.uk/Spotlight-WhatsApp.pdf
Which? advice: conversation.which.co.uk/scams/whatsapp-impersonation-family-friends-new-number
WhatsApp advice on avoiding scams: faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/about-spam-and-unwanted-messages