"Hi Mum" Scam Texts

stopthevoting

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-41193217.html

This topic was mentioned a lot in the news recently, but I wondered are these scams specifically targetted to certain people, or are they just sent out to many numbers. I did not find an answer to this in any of the reports I heard or read. Do these scam texts include the name of the son or daughter of the potential victim? Are the scammers using particular details of suitable people? Or do they just send them out to many numbers in the hope that some people will fall for it?

If they are just general messages, then many people who don't have teenage/adult children must be getting the messages. And if a person had several children, and believed the fake message, how would they even know which son or daughter was supposed to be sending it.

On the other hand, if the messages are specifically targetted with names, then where are the scammers collecting the information from?

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058307738/hi-mum-scam-texts

Not targeted. Just fired out to loads of people.

stopthevoting

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120931875#Comment_120931875

Thanks, that's what I thought. I heard several radio reports where people spoke at lenght about this scam, but none of the people being interviewed mentioned that, and none of the presenters asked the question.

Purple Mountain

It's a phishing exercise.

They'll send them out indiscriminately knowing at least a small percentage will be a mother to a teenager/young person.

Someone will text back saying "is that you, Mary/Mike?"

Then they have an in.

anewme

As I’ve no kids, when I got the text, I was bowled over and congratulating myself on having the cleverest dog in the world.

To do a phishing scam is the easiest thing in the world, especially if you get a TOR app on your device which better enables you to get to these sites which facilitate easy phishing. You could try sending yourself a phishing text as I did… actually I sent myself a phishing phone call scheduled for next day, just as an experiment. It was a try out free call and as I’m big into nosing around hacking tools out of pure curiosity I targeted myself. Next day there was a major distraction in my life that focussed my attention away from whimsy, and I was well annoyed to receive this phishing call from USA, until then remembering I had set it up in first place!

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932211#Comment_120932211

Wow, you almost fall for your own scams. 🤣

Beefcake82

I usually respond to these "i disowned you already, don't contact me again" 😁

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932512#Comment_120932512

I did, for a second! Well I knew it a scam, but for a split second forgot I had sent it. Did it from dark web, call came next morning when my mind was on something very that had just come to light, saw incoming call from USA and knew it wasn’t relatives, I shouted at phone “not now! Bloody scammer!” Then I remembered I had scheduled the call 🤣

All part of self-education on social engineering.

Bummer1234

I remember awhile back reading a story about a women who received one of these texts saying "Hi Mum", And her child was recently deceased. Jesus it can be received by others in a completely different way...

When I read the story I was floored on how sad and could not imagine how it was for the mother to get.

Lewis_Benson

Relation of mine got done out of 1000 quid by this.