Smart Money: Is that message from my children asking for money real or not?

Question: I’ve got a message from my kids asking for money, what should I do?

Answer: Rarely nowadays do weeks pass when we don’t receive text messages telling us to take action. A parcel company wanting to rearrange delivery or the ‘government’ claiming a discount of energy bills is now ready to apply for: scammers are relentless in their pursuit of our money. The trouble is, we expect to see messages along these lines, making it harder to spot the genuine messages from the fake. Fraudsters know this and hope to catch us out when we’re distracted or in a rush.

But recently many people have reported a different type of scam, which involves fraudsters impersonating children asking their parents for money. Commonly, these messages or texts that also start with what is a fairly harmless message to say that they’ve changed numbers (and/or mobile phone provider). Earlier this year, Action Fraud warned that it had received 1,235 reports of criminals posing as loved ones in need on WhatsApp between 3 February and 21 June this year, resulting in a total financial loss of £1.5m.

You can see how they can be effective at luring unsuspecting parents in. From car breakdowns to lost phones, expensive accidents happen. And that’s at the best of times: with a cost-of-living crisis that shows no signs of abating, adult children may need their parents’ help just to pay bills or rent.

A parent’s instinct to help out their kids can quickly kick in – and fraudsters are fully aware of that fact

Mostly, fraudsters are going for volume – throwing lots of darts at the board and hoping a few hit the target. The Office for National Statistics estimates that 80,000 Brits a month are receiving phishing scams. Of those, approximately three per cent of messages are actually clicked on. From that three per cent, one in ten people actually hand over details. But that’s still millions of pounds being lost.

If you don’t have children and receive a message from somebody purporting to be, then it’s obviously easier to ignore the message. But if you are a parent, then the instinct to help your children can quickly kick in – and fraudsters know that, which is why this particular scam is so cruel.

Reassuringly, the tactics that help stop other scams in their tracks also apply to this one. The most important thing to do is take time to think about what you’ve just been told. Call your child on the number you have saved to check with them if they’ve changed numbers and indeed require money. Fraudsters will often try to hurry their victims into making a quick decision – sending money straight away because it’s urgent, for example – but don’t let them rush you.

If you have been unfortunate enough to have clicked through on the link in the text, and sent some money to the bank details provided, then you have been a victim of something called authorised push payment (APP) fraud. You certainly wouldn’t be alone in doing so. Banking industry body UK Finance found that there were over 95,000 cases of APP fraud in the first half of the year, with losses totalling nearly £250 million.

However, when it comes to victims getting their money back from their banks (who are supposed to safeguard their customers’ cash) after being scammed, the process has become needlessly complicated. And success rates vary by bank, despite most major banks and building societies signing up to a voluntary code that instructs them to reimburse customers who are not at fault.

Thankfully, new rules are set to come into force which require mandatory reimbursement in all but exceptional cases, which should lead to fairer and more consistent outcomes for victims. Given the money currently lost to fraud, and the impact on victims and their mental health, those new rules can’t come quickly enough.

Sam Richardson is deputy editor of Which? Money