A 21-year-old Victorian man has been charged with five counts of obtaining property by deception for fraudulent transactions linked to the increasing popular “Hi Mum” scam.
But what is the “Hi Mum” scam? How does it fit into the legal definition of fraud? And what you can do to protect yourself?
What is the “Hi Mum” scam?
The “Hi Mum” scam typically begins when an older person receives an SMS or email from a person pretending to be a child or grandchild of the recipient asking for urgent financial assistance.
A typical scam message will start with an innocuous message such: “Hi Mum, my phone broke, this is my new number”. Often the scammer will then ask some generic questions such as “how are you?” or “enjoying your weekend?” to establish trust.
Once a person is misled into believe the sender is someone else, the scammer will send a message claiming that they urgently need money. The scenarios vary but include urgent bills that need paying, being at the petrol station and realising you don’t have enough money or even elaborate stories about drug debts and violent men coming to hurt them.
The scammer will either ask for money to be sent to account or may ask for credit card details.
The ACCC estimates that nearly $7.2 million have been lost due to the “Hi Mum” scam, with over 11,000 Australians being affected.
The Offence of Fraud in New South Wales
The ‘Hi Mum’ scam is an example of the crime of fraud in New South Wales, which is…
