Beware WhatsApp users! A new ‘Hello Mum’, ‘Hello Dad’ scam is spreading on WhatsApp

Meta-owned WhatsApp is one of the most used instant-messaging app worldwide. It has more than 2 billion users in the whole world. Due to its popularity, hackers and scammer tend to traget it to achieve malicious deed online.

Though WhatsApp keeps updating itself to become more safe and secure, from time to time, cybercriminals keeps spreading virus, trojans and other scams through the app.

Now, a group of cybercriminals in the UK has found a new way to cheat people on WhatsApp. According to reports, the cybercriminals has adopted a very casual approach for this new scam approach that starts with a simple ‘Hello Mum’ or ‘Hello Dad’ message.

The scammers send a message like “Hello Mum” or “Hello Dad,” followed by an SOS that says to immediately transfer money to an account because their “son” or “daughter” is in need.

These types of incidents were reported in United Kingdom. Cybercriminals in UK is targeting people using WhatsApp with these kinds of messages followed by the SOS to immediately transfer money.

According to Express UK, the scammers has already scammed message almost £50,000 (around 50,28,835) from innocent victims in the space of a few months. One WhatsApp user paid over £3,000 to scammers after they deceived him that his son had sent them a message from their son asking for help.

The report said that the newly circulated WhatsApp messages begin with either “Hello Mum” or “Hello Dad”, before asking them to transfer money urgently.

This type of scam methods are not limited to UK only, they are becoming quite normal in India as well. But, the scammers in India are using Messenger for duping people, said the report.

The scammers pose as your brother, sister, cousin, friends or relatives and immediately ask for monetary support. Believing it to be true, people tend to transfer money instantly and end up losing their hard earned income within seconds.

So, WhatsApp and Messenger users should stay alert and be careful of these type of scams. You should cross check with their real son or daughter or anyone known if they actually need the money or it is some kind of trap.

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