“hi mum” scam, a type of scam/fraud that impersonates a family member or friend asking for personal or financial information, which leads to a request for money for an urgent situation.
By leveraging personal information available online, criminals have become professionals at scams and fraud. This information is frequently used to impersonate close relatives and friends to advance hoax.
If you have received an unwanted phone call or text message from someone pretending to be a family member or close friend, you are already a victim of fraud. Other techniques used by fraudsters in phony emergency schemes include:
- Typically depicts as an authoritative figure, which makes them sound more credible;
- Imposes an urgent situation In which you are the only person who can help; and
- Insists on secrecy to prevent the victim from telling other family members about the scam and exposing it.
The following practices will help you to avoid being a victim of online scams/frauds:
- Do not post personal or financial information online;
- Be wary of unsolicited communications requesting information;
- Take advantage of default anti-phishing capabilities on mobile devices;
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA); and
- Protect your privacy settings
The following procedures should be taken if a scam or fraud is suspected:
- Always confirm unexpected or urgent calls or messages with other family members or close acquaintances;
- Be wary with online money transfers;
- If confirmed to be a scam or fraud, block the number immediately; and
- Report the incident to the National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT-PH), the National Bureau of Investigation, or the Philippine National Police, Anti-Cyber Crime Group (PNP-ACG).