We have a very important warning for you. Since May, a new type of scam has become fashionable in the UK. Criminals have already made over £1.5 million rich this way!
Internet fraud is the daily bread, not only in the UK, but also in Poland and many other regions of Europe and the World. Many of the methods are now common knowledge, and this makes residents more cautious and criminals less effective.
Among other things, we remind you of the courier method that developed during the pandemic, when we started ordering a lot more parcels online. What does it involve?
Scammers send text messages to random people asking them to make a surcharge for the delivery of a package. Usually small amounts are requested, so that clicking on the payment link does not seem so dangerous.
This is only a pretence. Extortionists thus gain access to your bank account, from which a much higher amount usually disappears.
Now a new method has emerged. It is called “hey, mum!”. It is imperative that you get to know the scammers’ method.
The new method is widespread on Whatsupp. The thief contacts a random number and introduces himself as our child, whose phone has been stolen and is therefore writing from a different number.
The message goes on to say that the child needs money for a new phone and to get home. Holiday time is an excellent opportunity for this kind of crime – many children actually go on holiday, for example, so such a scenario is not unlikely. And which parent will not want to rescue their child?
After all, the recipient of the message is not asked for bank or payment card details. The thieves want them to redeem a gift card – usually small amounts like £100 or £200.
But we have already known cases where a parent has purchased a card worth… £700! Such money is usually unrecoverable.