Parents are now being sent scam messages in which a person pretending to be a child is trying to get money for himself.
Scam messages have been sent via text messages and the Whatsapp application. Illustration image. Tashatuvango
The police in Inner Finland warn of a scam in which parents are mistakenly transferred money to their “child”.
According to the release, in the scam, the sender of the message often appears as a descendant of the recipient whose phone is broken and the number has unexpectedly changed.
According to the police, the sender of the scam message has an urgent need for money.
Crimes all over Finland
In recent months, numerous victims of crimes have received text messages or Whatsapp messages from a previously unknown number, in which the sender of the message has posed as the child of the recipient of the message.
According to the police, the messages tell how the phone of the sender, i.e. the fake child, is broken, left in the washing machine or similar. The message says that because of that, the number has unexpectedly changed and that’s why it’s urgent to get money.
– The mother, father or grandparent, worried about the welfare of their offspring, have often made the mistake of transferring even thousands of euros to an unspecified account, the police say.
Several similar crimes have been recorded all over Finland. The police investigate crimes as fraud or aggravated fraud.
Do not send money to a foreign number
The police remind us that requests for money from a foreign number are always alarming. Do not transfer money to anyone without first verifying the authenticity of the request. First, try to reach the person registered as a next of kin through an old familiar contact.
The police also remind that when receiving a scam message, the person should contact their former contact information to clarify the situation.
In frauds, the criminal usually also creates a rush. Haste weakens the victim’s perception of the reasonableness of the payment.
– You shouldn’t be in a hurry. None of the close relatives is in a hurry to get money on a minute schedule, the release says.
It is only possible to interrupt a wrong account transfer in some cases.
Victims of crime should immediately contact their bank. The bank may be able to stop the wrong account transfer and secure the lost funds.
After this, a criminal report must be made to the police without delay. Unfortunately, often the person concerned does not get back the funds they transferred and the damage is finally paid by the victim.