Whatsapp scams how to#

“It’s a despicable act, which takes advantage of a person’s willingness to help out loved ones who are perhaps away from home. This is backed by a story that he or she has recently changed their phone or phone number. 'Typically, the ‘child’ is short of money or late paying bills, and asks the recipient to transfer money into an account. “In each case, a person purporting to be a family member, often a daughter or son, asks for money. “We have noted an increase in the number of reports of this type of scam from individuals across Northern Ireland.

Elderly man scammed out of 'significant amount of money' in Co Down.

PSNI WhatsApp scam warning as fraudsters pose as 'family members' asking for money.

Superintendent Gerard Pollock said it was a despicable act that takes advantage of people's willingness to help family members. Typically the fraudsters will include a message which says that the family member has changed their phone or phone number. Police said they had noted an increase in the number of reports of scam text and WhatsApp messages which purport to be from a family member requesting money. Stay up to date with the very latest from your Birmingham or West Midlands street or neighbourhood with our Birmingham News Email Updates.The PSNI has urged caution after a woman from Omagh was scammed into paying £1,700 to a fraudster's bank account. Almost £700 million was lost to fraudsters in April, according to Action Fraud. They were able to retrieve £5,000 back, but she still remains out of pocket.

Santander, the bank she uses, said Mrs Briscoe had been warned about WhatsApp scams - but insisted on carrying out payments. Impersonation/the mom and dad scam The most common and easiest to perform, the impersonation scam involves someone pretending to be a family member. It left her with anxiety and she 'still feel very angry about it.' Here are some of the most common WhatsApp scams that you need to be aware of. She added: 'I said 'how did you know I had this money?' Good job I have my savings.' She said she had become so panicked she made the transactions quickly. The scammer, claiming to be her son, kept saying he needed help. Whatsapp Fake Admin First, if you have WhatsApp installed on your mobile, you might receive an email or a text message claiming to be sent by the WhatsApp admin. This exchange ended up costing her £10,000 over several transactions. There are five types of Whatsapp scams that are very common these days. That was my first mistake, giving them the name of my son,' she added.

She explained after how she asked if it was her son, Ed - and in doing so, made an error. READ MORE : Inside lavish lifestyle of wanted fraudster who fled to Dubai owing HMRC £2.2m Speaking to ITV's This Morning, Mrs Briscoe, from Dorset, said: 'I was at the office and I got this message which said 'please change my mobile number to this one', so I immediately said I'd do it.' She made four separate transactions which cost her all her life savings. She was asked for help to make payments that he had 'forgotten' to make.

Whatsapp scams how to#

Here are the most common WhatsApp scams to look out for right now, and how to avoid falling victim to one.

But despite WhatsApp’s reputation for solid security, scams can still occur on this popular app. It related to fraudsters impersonating her son and asking them for money.Īngela Briscoe was sent messages from a scammer pretending to be her son who was travelling in Mexico. With two billion active users worldwide, WhatsApp is one of the biggest names in encrypted messaging apps. A mum was conned out of almost £10,000 of her life savings after becoming a victim of a sophisticated 'mother and father WhatsApp scam'.