Hey mum scam cons Australian mother out of $5,000 with heartless WhatsApp message

An Aussie mother is the latest to be duped by the ‘hey mum’ scam after she handed over more than $5,000 to someone she believed was her son. 

The fraudster contacted Sue (not her real name) via WhatsApp with the message earlier this week asking her to urgently pay $5,245 – and she transferred the money. 

The Adelaide woman told ABC Radio she was devastated when her son explained it wasn’t him and that she had been conned by a notorious scam that has also fooled thousands of other Aussies with the losses estimated to exceed $2.6million.

The Adelaide mother joins a host of victims who have fallen for the swindle, with losses estimated to be more than $2.6million

‘It was awful, and then to find out the next day it wasn’t your son you were speaking to, it’s a real invasion, a terrible feeling,’ she said. ‘You think, ‘who was I conversing with this whole time.”

Sue joins a host of victims who have fallen for the swindle, with losses estimated to be more than $2.6million. 

Delia Rickard from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it has received 1,150 reports of scams – with most victims being women over 55.

‘It is a very effective one because it tugs on your heartstrings,’ she told ABC Radio.

‘[The scammers] will have an excuse like, ‘I’ve dropped my phone’, ‘I broke my phone’, ‘I lost my phone so this is my new number, you can delete the old number’,’ she said.

Sue got the first WhatsApp text on Sunday from someone claiming to be her son and saying he had lost his phone. 

ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said the scam ‘tugs at your heart strings’ (pictured, a scammer in action) 

‘[The scammers] will have an excuse like, ‘I’ve dropped my phone’, ‘I broke my phone’, ‘I lost my phone so this is my new number, you can delete the old number,’ Ms Rickard said (pictured, a scammer at work)

The scammer then bailed her up on Monday telling her he needed, $5,245 to pay some bills. 

Sue said she called the number but received a message back saying they couldn’t talk, asking her to transfer the money. 

During the exchange she sent a photo of her and her son to the number and the scammer replied with love heart and flower emojis. 

When her son told her it hadn’t been him she tried to get her money back by contacting the banks.

‘Nothing they can do about it, because I gave them the money – it’s a lot of money,’ she said.

Ms Rickard said parents should contact their children via their regular number or social media platforms. But if that fails they should ask the person questions only your child would know

The ruse is part of a highly effective ‘hey mum’ mobile phone scam that plays on the fears of parents.   

It starts off when scammers send a text message from a different number pretending to be one of their children.  

The messages claim the son or daughter has a new phone and tells the parents to delete their other number. 

The texts stress the issue is urgent before providing payment details, offering to reimburse their ‘parents’ later. 

Ms Rickard said parents who get these texts should get in touch with IDCARE, the national identity and cyber support service.

She said parents who get the messages should contact their children via their regular number or social media and if that fails, ask the person questions only your child would know.