Your child, a friend or your boss, writing from a new number, asking for money or a favour now. How to check it's really them before you send anything.
Hi Mom, it's me. I dropped my phone, this is my new number. Can you save it?
I need to pay a bill today but my banking app won't work on the new phone. Can you pay it for me? I'll pay you back tomorrow.
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Hi Mom, it's me. I dropped my phone, this is my new number. Can you save it?
I need to pay a bill today but my banking app won't work on the new phone. Can you pay it for me? I'll pay you back tomorrow.
Hi, it's David. I'm in a meeting and can't talk. I need you to buy five gift cards for a client and send me the codes.
The caller says
“Grandma, it's me. I'm in trouble and I need money for bail. Please don't tell Mom.”
Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.
A new number, and a reason they can't talk: a broken phone, a meeting, a bad line.
Money now: a bill, a fee or gift cards, paid to someone else's account.
Secrecy: “don't tell Mom”, “keep this between us”.
A voice can be faked too. A short clip from the internet is enough to copy one.
It can come from their real account. Accounts get hacked, so a message from a friend's own profile can still be a scam.
Don't send anything yet. Call them on the number you already have, or call someone close to them.
Ask something only the real person would know.
Agree a family word to use in a real emergency.
Still not sure? Check the message. We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.