They will say they've misplaced their cellphone, therefore they're contacting the mother or father from an unknown quantity.

The scammer will then go on to ask the mother or father to ship over cash to pay an pressing invoice or for an additional monetary want.

Victims of the rip-off typically hand over a whole bunch and even 1000's of kilos as they need to assist their liked one in want - however in actuality the cash goes to criminals.

A consultant of Barclays responded to the tweet: “Thanks for your message, these types of scams are so scary aren't they as they play on the heart strings of parents, I'm glad that you didn't fall for it.

“If you need any support or help you're more than welcome to pop into DM and I'll do my best to assist.”

A pensioner lately shared her story on BBC Money Box of how she fell victim to the Whatsapp scam and handed over £3,000, after fraudsters contacted her pretending to be her son.

She mentioned: “I was gutted. I was so upset that someone could do this to me. I try so hard to save money and watch my pennies, but I felt so gutted that someone could do this to me.”

John Stirzaker, client skilled at NetVoucherCodes.co.uk, beforehand advised Express.co.uk scammers are becoming more sophisticated in how they perform the rip-off.

He mentioned: “Now this text isn’t just a straight-forward, ‘Hand me the money my phone is broken’.

“It’s now developed where they’ll message for days, putting kisses in messages and using social media to use personal information in conversations.

“We urge everyone who has been approached by a scammer to report the incident to Action Fraud and to ring up the bank straight away if any financial transactions were involved, so they’re aware of the situation.”

Mr Stirzaker spoke concerning the indicators individuals ought to look out for that will point out a message just isn't real.

He mentioned: “If you receive a message asking you to hand over your bank details or address then it’s likely it’s not genuine.

“It’s important to try and recognise what a legitimate message from your bank or energy provider looks like.

“If you receive anything that looks even a little suspicious or too good to be true, hop on the phone and check with the company.

“They’ll be able to put your mind at ease and if the message you received is a scam then be sure to report it.”

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