In today's digital era, where almost every child owns a smartphone, you may have already faced situations like this: “Hello mom, hello dad. My cell phone broke. Here's my new number, you can delete the old one." These messages can seem seemingly harmless and innocent. However, the consumer advice center warns: This could be a scam! In this article, we will look at how to recognize such situations and respond to them correctly.
About the problem: What is behind the “Hello Mom, Hello Dad” scam?
First of all: It's about your money. The scenario usually begins with a message purporting to be from your child, supposedly with a new cell phone number. After a series of messages, a request for financial support inevitably comes. Couldn't you help make an urgent transfer? This is an insidious scam that aims to extract money from you by abusing the trust that exists between you and your child.
To properly respond to these scams, consider the following precautions:
- Never pay money upon request of these messages.
- Call your children's old numbers and ask.
- If your children have a landline, this is the safest option.
- Do not delete the WhatsApp messages as they can be used as evidence.
- Report the incident to the police.
- Block the scammer's number to stop receiving further messages.
Despite the fact that this scam is subtle and difficult to detect, some people caught it in time. A woman from North Rhine-Westphalia, who has no children, was immediately alarmed when she received a similar message. But not all cases end so harmlessly.
A practical case: When the fraud almost succeeds
A mother from Saxony received the message: “Hello mom, I have a new cell phone. Please save the new number!” Since her daughter had already changed numbers several times in the past, the mother initially thought nothing bad. After a few trivial messages, the demand for money finally came.
The fraudster, who posed as her daughter, claimed that she no longer had access to her online banking on her new cell phone and urgently needed to make a transfer. Couldn't mom help? The mother was asked to send more than 1,100 euros to a foreign recipient name. Luckily, she became suspicious and contacted her daughter's "old" number, whereupon the scam was exposed.
Other masks of fraud: Fake police and Europol
Unfortunately, the list of scams doesn't end here. Some scammers not only pretend to be your children over the phone, but also try to deceive you using other identities. A popular trick is to dress up as police officers or even Europol . So if you receive a call saying “Hello this is Europol”, you should exercise extreme caution. Some unsuspecting victims, who give in under pressure from fraudsters, often lose thousands of euros due to this Europol fake.
In today's digital world, it is crucial to be aware of the various fraud methods and to actively protect yourself. It's easy to fall into such traps, especially when the scammers use the identity of someone you trust. But with knowledge, caution and common sense, you can stay one step ahead of these scammers and protect yourself and your hard-earned money.
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Source:
Consumer advice center
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