– With ever new variations of the digital grandchildren trick, fraudsters continue to steal money via WhatsApp. Even if the cheeky scams differ in subtleties, general tips can provide some security.
Fraudsters are increasingly trying to get their savings via WhatsApp, especially among older people. A recurring attempt at fraud is the “Hello Mama” scam, which has been appearing more and more since spring.
The planned victim is contacted by someone else’s phone number via WhatsApp. The sender pretends to be a son or daughter with a new cell phone number. In cases that have become public, the scam often started with a simple “Hello Mom”. This was followed by the notice that you had a new phone number. The identified person is then quickly asked to transfer money to a specific account for a variety of reasons.
An original text message in the case of a failed fraud attempt read: “Hello mom, my cell phone broke. This is now my new number, you can save it. Are you at home?”
How to protect yourself from WhatsApp scammers
The police have the following tips ready to track down the crooks and not fall for scams:
– Ask personally if you are contacted by a previously unknown number via messenger services such as WhatsApp. If you are supposed to have changed your number, ask the person you know on the old number.
– Do not just add unknown numbers as contacts.
