Mum and Dad Scam

February 20, 2023 Longrider General News 15

This one is still doing the rounds.

The text message began: “Hi Dad!”. The sender informed pensioner Graham Price* that their phone had fallen down the toilet, so they were using a temporary number while it was repaired. Chattily, they mentioned the number change had locked them out of online banking when they had an urgent bill to settle.

Convinced that he was messaging his son, Price offered to lend the money and was given the details of the creditor. He transferred £1,850.40.

The following day he discovered the texts had been from a scammer, and his money had vanished.

“He, or she, was so convincing I genuinely thought it was my son who needed help,” says Price. “I am 71, and the money I paid out in good faith was savings for winter fuel bills.”

He was taken in by an invidious scam which tricks parents into believing their offspring need help. Last year, £1.5m was lost to this racket between February and June, according to Action Fraud, the UK’s reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

Sigh… This scam is well known. If it is a son or daughter, they would refer to themselves by name. All you have to do is call their regular number to check. Or if you decide to engage, ask which son or daughter.

The tone is relaxed and chatty, and scammers pick up on cues to convince victims they are family. “Your eldest, cutest one!” answered one imposter when a mother asked which of her children was texting.

That’s all you need to tell you it’s a scam. If it was really a son or daughter, they would refer to themselves by name.

Barclays argues Price did not verify the identity of his “son” before engaging with him, and overlooked a generic pop-up warning on the payments page that says requests for money may be a scam.

I’m with Barclays on this one. They do all they reasonably can to warn you before making a transaction. All it takes is a few seconds to check – you know, call the person and ask if they have just requested money? It is not the bank’s fault and they should not be held liable.

“In these situations, scammers try to play on your emotions and your instinct to help someone you care about,” says the bank. “Remember, before you make a payment, check it is who you think it is by giving them a call on a number you trust.”

This is so blindingly obvious, I wonder why people don’t think of it. I know older people might not be tech savvy and they might be more trusting, but even so…

Meanwhile, the Lending Standards Board, which oversees the CRM code, announced it will oblige banks to take tougher measures to prevent fraud in the first place. By December this year, signatories will be expected to monitor payments to identify accounts at higher risk of money laundering, and to take more account of psychological grooming. They also want the financial and telecoms sectors to work together to eliminate loopholes exploited by criminal gangs.

Okay, fair enough. If the banks can close loopholes and make fraud more difficult without making life impossible for customers, go for it.

Price believes he had no reason to suspect the texts. He says: “Halifax accepted the money, and the fraudster withdrew it immediately. They are, in effect, supporting illegal financial transactions.”

So are you, old bean, for not exercising a little basic common sense and due diligence.

15 Comments

  1. I mentioned this on the last post about scams I think. My mother, who is just about to turn 83, fell for a scam. It was one of the kind that you would think that only an idiot would fall for, red flags everywhere. It made us realise that she was starting to deteriorate mentally as she would never have done something so stupid when she was younger.

  2. I had one of those messages and I don’t even have kids.
    I am finding it a bit tedious though, with all the checks the banks have to put in place to prevent morons from giving away their cash. I dispair when the works, “We just need to check it’s you”, appear on screen

    • It is like the “Beware this coffee might be hot.” or the bag of peanuts with the “May contain nuts.” warnings.
      If the stupid sign is not there the business will get its arse sued off by a cunning “No win No fee.” lawyer.

      • Indeed. I think it would be a better deterrant for morons to loose thier money, burn their lips and eat the nuts. I’m sure people would learn a lot faster, Those that make it

  3. Why do people who are bit older than middle age play the ” Oh, I am just a poor old 71 year old, and therefore a bit thick, so I cannot be expected to be wise to the ways of of this evil world. ” card?
    I am older than this eejit and I would never ever claim that my age is a reason for my stupidity. Creaking knees, yes.
    Quick, sign over all financial responsibility to a trusted person with Power of Attorney. You have just proved that it is neccessary.

    • Bad back here, but would in no way fall for these scams.
      Perhaps if you’d been on the sauce, maybe.
      Not me lol.

  4. Barclays should close his account with a you are too stupid to bank here message.

    This is just working its way towards us all giving our fingerprints and voice ids to the government for validation for every transaction.

  5. Roger Cook used to do a programme on Radio 4 on the scammeers and the scammed. it was sent up by Weekending , a Friday night satirical review of the week’s events. Yes, I know extraordinary isn’t it Radio 4 doing satire! Weekending had a “story” of a Mrs Bonehead who had bought a luxury fla,t without seeing it, in somewhere in central London called Buckingham Palace. When she arrived there she was accosted by guards and police and, of course, could not understand why. The scammers, needless to say, had scarpered. You get the idea, though.

    • I got one a few months back, and despite my better instincts, I replied with a suitably colourful explanation about what they could do. Never heard any more…

  7. I had one, guessed it was a scam, text my son, who had apparently broken his phone. Nope, phone in tack, no problems. Then blocked the scammer.
    Get fed up blocking phone and text messages. Perhaps companies should not be allowed to pass or sell our phone numbers to others.

  8. I don’t have any children, and both my parents are dead, so I REALLY hope I don’t fall for this!

    “It is like the “Beware this coffee might be hot.” or the bag of peanuts with the “May contain nuts.” warnings”

    The user manuals which accompany most of the “Middle Of Lidl” specials are getting absurd. I bought a £3 digital kitchen timer, and the book ran to some 30 pages, only 3 of which described how to operate it. The rest covered every conceivable safety warning known to man, or those identifying as one…

  9. It is possible in extremis to find these believable.

    I got one of these last week. Started to think about how sad the situation was.

    Then I realised that:
    1. The message was awfully cheery about the broken phone at 04:30 in the morning.
    2. My children are all under 8, so would not be out at that time
    3. Given the age of my children, they wouldn’t ask for money, just a replacement
    4. My children are too young to have phones.
    5. The message came on the shift phone, not my phone

    I put the tardiness of my realising down to the fact it was 04:30 in the morning and I was the better part of 10 hours into a busy shift and was in the middle of trying to fix a complicated problem.

    Still wouldn’t have sent money though, not without verification

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