A mother-of-two has issued a warning to parents across the country to look out for suspicious texts or WhatsApp messages as the ACCC clamps down on the ‘hi mum’ scam.
In this scam, parents receive a message from an unknown number posing as a family member that is in need of money.
Brisbane mother Jen Irishu was caught out when she received a text message from a scammer pretending to be her son.
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“It started with ‘hi mum it’s me, this is my number, you can save this one and delete the other one’,” Irishu said.
Irishu immediately asked, who she thought was her son, what had happened to his old phone.
The scammer built rapport with her by explaining that he had broken his old phone and had lost all of his files.
“I questioned it, but there were right answers coming back all the time,” Irishu said.
It wasn’t long before the conversation quickly turned to money.
“He said, ‘I have two bills that need to be paid, if I don’t pay them today I’ll be fined $500’,” Irishu said.
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Having discussed the decision with her husband, Chris Nearhos, Irishu transferred $3250 to the bank details provided by the scammer.
She then emailed her son the receipt for the transaction, prompting him to call her.
“He just said, ‘what are…
