Beware WhatsApp users! This new scam can get you in lot of trouble

Meta (formerly Facebook)-owned WhatsApp, being one of the most popular instant messaging platforms out there, is also vulnerable to looming hackers and malicious players online. Given the always-looming threat, WhatsApp keeps bringing new safety and privacy measures to keep users safe. However, hackers are smart people and almost always find ways to circumvent these measures. Most recently, a group of cybercriminals in the UK has found a new way to cheat people on WhatsApp. The scam begins with a message that they send to their target. It is a simple message like “Hello Mum” or “Hello Dad.”

The scammers send a message like “Hello Mum” or “Hello Dad,” followed by an SOS to immediately transfer money to an account because their “son” or “daughter” is in need. According to a report in Express UK, scammers have duped innocent victims of almost GBP 50,000 in the matter of just a few months. One single person was duped of GBP 3,000 to scammers after being tricked into thinking they had received a message from their son asking for help.

The WhatsApp messages begin with either “Hello Mum” or “Hello Dad” before going on to demand money “urgently.” These kinds of scam messages are not limited to the UK. Scammers in India have also been found to use similar tactics to trick people into paying them money. The scammers try to imitate a close person to you – it could be a parent, child, sibling, friend, colleague, in order to trick you into giving them money.

WhatsApp users are advised to double-check their contacts and verify such messages each time before they transfer any amount of money to anyone.