The 'Hi Mum' WhatsApp Scam: Not from Family

A message arrives on WhatsApp from an unknown number. "Hi Mum, this is my new number, my old phone is broken." A short conversation follows, and before long the person on the other end is asking for money to be sent urgently because they cannot access their banking app on the new handset. Money is transferred, sometimes a few hundred pounds, sometimes several thousand, and it later turns out that the son or daughter never sent a word.

This is the "Hi Mum" scam, sometimes called the "Hi Dad" scam or family impersonation fraud. It has been one of the most common WhatsApp frauds in the UK for the past few years, and it continues to catch people out because it is built around something very ordinary: a parent wanting to help their child.

How the scam works

The criminal sends a message from a UK or international mobile number that the recipient does not recognise. The opening line is usually some variation of:

• "Hi Mum, I've lost my phone and I'm using a friend's."
• "Hello Dad, this is my new number, please save it."
• "Hi Mum, my screen is cracked and I can't log in to anything."

Once the parent replies, the scammer settles into the role. They might ask how the day is going, drop in a vague reference to family, and avoid anything specific enough to give themselves away. After a short exchange, the request arrives. It is almost always about money, and almost always urgent. A bill that has to be paid today. A deposit that will be lost if it is not transferred by five o'clock. A locked banking app and no other way to send the payment.

Bank details are then provided, usually in the name of someone the parent has never heard of. The scammer explains this away by saying it is a friend's account, or a work colleague, or that the payment is going to a supplier directly. If the money is sent, it is moved on within minutes and is very difficult to recover.

Why it works so well

The scam relies on a few simple things. Parents are wired to respond when a child says something is wrong. WhatsApp shows the sender's chosen name rather than a verified identity, so the fact that the contact is unknown is easily explained by the "new phone" story. And because the conversation happens in text, there is no voice to recognise or fail to recognise.

Urgency does much of the rest. People who would normally pause and check are pushed into acting quickly. The scammer keeps the pressure on with short, anxious messages, and discourages any suggestion of a phone call by saying the new phone cannot make calls yet, or that they are somewhere noisy, or that the microphone is broken.

Older relatives are targeted heavily because they are more likely to have adult children living away from home, more likely to have savings, and in some cases less familiar with the specific tricks used on messaging apps. That said, this scam catches people of every age. It is not a question of being gullible. It is a question of catching someone at the wrong moment.

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How to check whether the message is real

If you get a message like this, the single most useful thing you can do is contact the person on the number you already have for them. Call it. If they answer, the message is fake. If they do not answer, try again, or try a partner, sibling or housemate who would know whether their phone is genuinely broken.

Other things worth doing before sending any money:

• Ask something only the real person would know, such as the name of a primary school teacher or a private family joke. Avoid anything that could be guessed or looked up, like a pet's name or a recent holiday, since these are often visible on social media.
• Be suspicious of any account name that does not match your relative's name.
• Treat urgency itself as a warning sign. Genuine emergencies do exist, but a real family member will usually understand if you say you want to call first.
• Do not rely on the WhatsApp profile picture. Scammers often copy the real person's photo from Facebook or Instagram.

Reporting it

If you receive one of these messages, whether or not you lost any money, it is worth reporting.

Inside WhatsApp, open the chat, tap the sender's name or number at the top, scroll down and choose Block, then Report. This sends recent messages from that number to WhatsApp so they can investigate.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report the scam to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, either at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101.

If you have sent money, contact your bank straight away. Many UK banks have signed up to the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which sets out when victims of authorised push payment fraud may be reimbursed. Not all payments are covered, and reimbursement depends on meeting specific criteria, so the sooner you call your bank the better the chance of stopping the payment or recovering the funds.

Suspicious SMS text messages, as opposed to WhatsApp messages, can be forwarded free to 7726, and scam emails can be sent to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Talking to older relatives about it

Many people feel awkward raising this with a parent because it can sound patronising. A simple approach tends to work best. Mention that you have heard about a scam going around, describe roughly how it works, and agree what you would actually do if your phone broke. For example, you might agree that you would never ask for money by text, or that you would always phone from a landline or a friend's phone first.

It also helps to agree a family password: a single word that only close family know, used to confirm that a message really is from who it says it is. It can feel awkward at first, but it is a reliable way to cut through a scam that depends on a parent being unable to verify who they are speaking to.

If a relative has already been caught out, try not to make them feel foolish. These scams are designed by people who do this full time, and the shame of being tricked stops many victims from reporting. The more openly families talk about it, the less power the scam has.

Related warnings

• Voice Cloning Phone Scams
• Fake Bank Fraud Team Calls
• SIM Swap Fraud
• Royal Mail Missed Parcel Text Scams

See more recent scams on the Latest Scam Warnings page.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Scam Detector lets you got a text, call, email or offer that feels off? Paste it in below and we will tell you how scammy it looks, the warning signs to spot, and exactly what to do next. Try it now →