Cybercriminals contact a mother through this app and ask for money
The National Police has shared on its social networks a scam that is circulating among citizens again. This is the well-known son scam, in which scammers contact a mother and ask for financial help on behalf of her son. This scam circulates through WhatsApp, the most used messaging application in Spain. Cybercriminals contact adults, who are more likely to have children, and pose as them to urgently ask for money.
It is not the first time that this type of scam has occurred, so the National Police has not hesitated to warn of this practice on its social networks. The Internet User Security Office (OSI) explains that from an unknown number, they ask the person who receives the message for money under any excuse. In order to get the user to proceed to make the requested transfers or payments, they are deceived by telling them that she is his son and that they have changed the number because they have had some kind of problem with their previous number or because they urgently need money.
As explained by the National Police, they normally contact women and deceive them by posing as their children to request an urgent money transfer to deal with an alleged problem. Faced with this type of message, parents do everything in their power and end up falling for fraud.
What to do if you have proceeded to make a transfer
All those users who have received a message of these characteristics and access the cybercriminal’s requests to make a transfer or payment. According to the OSI, if you have received such a message and have proceeded to make a transfer or payment, the solution begins by contacting your bank to cancel the operation. If you have provided your credit card information, cancel or block it with your bank so that they cannot misuse it.
You should also block the phone number from WhatsApp so that it cannot contact you again. You can do it on iOS devices by accessing the contact information where you will find the option to block. For Android phones, the lock option is available by clicking on the icon with three dots located in the upper right, once you are inside the chat conversation. Then you will have to select the option ‘See contact’, where you will find the option to block.
Finally, report the facts to the State Security Forces and Bodies so that they can open an investigation and try to stop the scammers who are proceeding in this way to deceive users.
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