scammers Archives - Circles in the SandCircles in the Sand

Oh boy, does this mum have a story for you about the “Hi Mum” scammers I blogged about at the weekend.

She was sitting at home one day, minding her own business, when she got a message on WhatsApp from someone claiming to be her son. The message said, “Hi Mum, it’s me, your son. I need your help. I’ve been arrested and I need money to bail myself out of jail.”

Now, she was immediately suspicious because her son is a law-abiding citizen (at least, as far as she knew). But, being the loving mother that she is, she decided to play along. So, she responded, “Oh no! What happened? Are you okay?”

The scammer responded, “I’m okay, but I need you to send me $5,000 right away so I can get out of jail.”

She thought to herself, “Five grand? Are you kidding me?” But, she decided to have a little fun with the scammer. So, she responded, “Sure thing, son. But first, can you answer a few questions to make sure it’s really you?”

The scammer was game, so she asked, “What’s your favourite colour?”

The scammer responded, “Blue.”

Okay, that was a lucky guess, she thought. So, she asked another question. “What was the name of your first pet?”

The scammer responded, “Uh, Fluffy.”

Fluffy? Really? Her son never had a pet named Fluffy. She started to laugh out loud and realised that this was definitely a scam. So, she decided to string the scammer along some more. She sent back a picture of a cat and said, “Oh, you mean Fluffy? Here’s a picture of him!”

The scammer never responded again.

The last word: Don’t mess with a mother’s intuition, and always be sceptical of unexpected messages asking for money.

My 14-year-old had a shifty look on his face this week when he told me he was in debt to his mate Finley, by 25aed. He looked particularly worried, I noted.

Then, wouldn’t you know it, Finley turned up at the door, literally a minute later.

“Ah, the debt collectors are here,” I chirped.

But of course, Son2 didn’t have 25aed (or at least claimed not to have it), and I couldn’t let Finley leave without being paid back. So I fished 25aed out of my wallet and handed it over.

What ensued next was what I can only describe as an explosion of suppressed raucous mirth erupting from Son2, Finley and another friend as they hot-footed it out the door pretty fast.

I’d been scammed, I realised – they were now off to the store to buy sweets, crisps, Takis. Loot they were sure to enjoy – as to the victors go the spoils.

Coincidentally, the next day my mum messaged me asking, “Have you sorted out your financial problem?”

“Eh?” I replied. I wasn’t aware of a money issue.

It turned out she’d almost fallen victim to the ‘Hi Mum’ scam.

This is when scammers impersonate a family member with the end game of extracting money or accessing bank information.

The scammer claimed that ‘I’ had dropped and broken my phone, explaining why they were contacting from a different number.

Apparently, ‘I’ had bought a new phone – an iPhone 14 – lucky ‘me’!

After a few messages had been exchanged to build a rapport, the scammer asked my mum to urgently help pay a bill (almost £3,000), under the ruse of the smashed phone and needing funds because they couldn’t access their online banking verification temporarily.

It was a close call – as mum really thought she was talking to me (although I must say, it honestly doesn’t sound like me!).

In cases like this, even if it’s only valuable time that’s wasted and trust shattered, the feelings of violation and betrayal can linger long after the incident has passed.

I found this Hi Mum scam especially cruel as it preys on people’s emotions and relationships with family members who they naturally want to help out, but the next thing my mum told me just made me laugh out loud…

“We had a man come to the door this morning who said he was from the Fire and Rescue Service and wanted to check the house. Said he had ID and said he had a fire engine outside!!”

Thank goodness the lady from down the hallway saw him off!

What ever will these despicable scammers come up with next?

Moral of the story: Always be sceptical, ask questions, and verify the identity of the person engaging with you (example coming up in next blog post!).