FURIOUS parents were fleeced out of millions of pounds last year in “Hi Mum” text scams – with an average of £1,000 handed over each time to con artists, we can reveal.
Since 2022, network provider has blocked eight million messages from fraudsters who pose as a child using a new phone number to trick mums and dads into sending money or sharing sensitive information.
Mum Sally Roberts, who was duped into sending cash, with Emily, right
TV’s Linda Robson and daughter Bobbie were targeted Credit: Getty
Victims often receive a text along the lines of: “Hi mum, this is my new number. I’ve lost my phone, delete the old number.”
A few hours later comes a follow-up request, such as: “I need to pay a bill urgently but I can’t access my account as it’s on my old phone. Could you send money to this account.”
Once the victim is persuaded they are messaging with a loved one, they are told to transfer money to a UK bank account belonging to a money mule who is paid as little as £50 to receive the deposits, transfer the money to cryptocurrency and then send it untraceably to the scammers.
International organised send hundreds of millions of such messages to UK mobiles every year.
Provider told The Sun on Sunday it has blocked 1.4billion scam messages since 2023, and a third of its customers who received a scam text between April and June this year had been targeted with “Hi Mum” or “Hi Dad” texts.
said family scams make up a quarter of all its financial cons, and says parents handed over an average of £1,000 each. But millions of messages are still getting through because is adding increasing complexity — and trade group UK Finance estimates £98million was taken from victims fooled by impersonation scams last year.
revealed that 100 million scam text mesages were reported in the year up to April 2025, while phone providers proactively blocked as many as 600 million.
expert James Bore said: “AI is making it easier to reach more people with less effort. Often it is done at random by trying millions of numbers at random but sometimes it is targeted.
“You also have spoofing, when scammers disguise their real phone number so a call or text appears to come from a trusted person or organisation, making it more likely that the recipient will think it is genuine. High-profile people are being targeted, too. They know the relevant names and that somebody’s daughter is travelling because they’ve checked their Instagram and they’ve taken that opportunity to extract money.”
panellist was targeted by con artists who found out her nickname for daughter Bobbie Dunford is “Bobbie Girl”.
She was on the verge of sending money until a colleague suggested she ask what was the name of her dog. The texter wrongly guessed Rover.
Linda said: “Only my family know I call her Bobbie Girl, so I definitely thought it was her.”
In 2022, the mother of TNT Sport presenter Jacqui Oatley was targeted via WhatsApp.
posing as the commentator, said they had a new phone but had lost access to photos and files. After chatting, they asked for £2,291.34 to pay a bill.
Jacqui revealed: “It was incredibly believable. It’s freaky that they have WhatsApp in your name so it’s even more believable than a random number.
“Mum had tried to contact me but I missed her call. Luckily, their spelling and grammar were terrible so that alerted my mum.”
Because of the complicated international networks in operation, police have secured few convictions.
Last year Mohamed Zakria Yousif, 21, from Hackney, East London, was sentenced to a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order for five “Hi Mum” fraud offences.
Will Ayles, co-founder of Refundee, which helps fraud victims recover money, says scammers are also using technology to impersonate voices.
He said: “It is really concerning because most people will try to verify an unknown number through a phone call. We have seen a rise in this recently. Before the technology to impersonate voices arrived, you very rarely had phone calls, but we are now seeing more.”
Fake messages can deceive worried parents (posed by model) Credit: Getty
A typical ‘Hi mum’ scam text message Credit: Supplied
Research by shows that 54 per cent of UK adults have been targeted by such scams and 47 per cent admitted they would not be confident in detecting a deepfake scam involving a family member.
In 2024 cancer sufferer from Prestbury, Gloucestershire, was conned out of £47,000 months before she died.
Thieves posed as her son Michael to drain her life savings and take funds left to her by her late husband — even sending fake friendly texts to maintain the facade.
Michael, a presenter, said he had “no idea” his mum was sending the scammers money until she told him during a visit: “I’m glad I was able to help you.”
One message she received read: “Hi mum, just to let you know, I’ve changed my phone number, you can delete the old number, use this one”.
Michael told how Jo innocently continued chatting to the stranger as if they were her son.
He felt “absolute shock and horror” and feared he hadn’t “protected” his mum.
Eventually, when they contacted the bank, Jo was given a full refund of her lost money.
- IF you think you’ve lost money or been hacked because of an online scam or fraud and you live in England or Wales, you can report it online at www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.
I FELL FOR IT…AND IT COST ME £450
CHARITY shop worker Sally Roberts lost £450 after receiving a “Hi Mum” text which she thought was from her daughter Emily’s new phone.
The mum-of-four presumed the text from a number she didn’t recognise was Emily, 24.
Sally, 47, from Penzance, , who also works as a cleaner, said: “Emily had just moved to London to study business management. She always started a text with, ‘Hi, Mum’.
“She was on a tight budget and always seemed to be changing her number. She’d damage her phone or lose it or move on to a cheaper deal. I asked, ‘Hi Emily, are you OK?’
“She replied, ‘My old phone broke. You can text me on this new number?’ She went on, ‘The rent was due three days ago. Can I borrow £450 and pay you back?’
“It wasn’t unusual for her to ask for money and I always looked out for her. I took the bank details and I went to the bank and paid it in.
“I rang the number – it was dead. Then I rang Emily’s old number and her phone rang. I felt embarrassed when I realised I had been scammed.”
Sally contacted Citizens Advice and Report Fraud, the UK’s national reporting service for cyber crime, and changed her bank details.
Emily says: “I was shocked this happened to my mum. If you think your child needs help you do whatever you can for them.”
5 ways to avoid falling into trap
THE offers these tips.
- Stop and think before you share your information or money – always check that they are who they say they are.
- Don’t let anyone who has called out of the blue gain remote access to your computer or phone.
- If you receive an email from someone claiming to be from a trusted organisation, check the email address and avoid clicking on links they send.
- If you receive a message from a friend or family member saying they need you to transfer money urgently, speak to them directly first.
- If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a trusted organisation, call them back on a number you know to be correct.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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